


Soon You'll Come Home

by broadwayboy69



Series: Dreams Do Come True: Klaine Family Verse [4]
Category: Glee
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2018-08-27 11:35:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 62,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8400121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broadwayboy69/pseuds/broadwayboy69
Summary: Blaine and Kurt are married with two kids and at the point of their lives they would never imagine having another child. But then Blaine meets a young girl in the most unlikely way and after he learns about the abuse she suffered he can’t help but want to give her the family that loves and care’s for her like she needs.





	1. Chapter 1

They are all running late this morning. Blaine didn’t have to wake up as early as normal since he was taking Oliver to the hospital for his routine skin cancer check from some abnormal freckles he has on this back and stomach. Since Blaine was not up early to get everyone out of bed they are all running late. When he first wakes he settles into the warmth of Kurt who managed to migrate to his side of the bed for warmth after he kicked all the covers off himself last night. Then Blaine’s mind catches up and leaps out of bed yelling for Kurt to get up because honestly, sometimes Kurt is worse than their teenage son with getting up in the morning. It takes him almost forty minutes for him to even leave the bed and unfortunately they don’t have that kind of time today. Kurt ignores him and pulls his pillow over his head turning to face away from Blaine. The soft breathing let’s Blaine know he is already back asleep.  
He quickly decides to get dressed before forcing Kurt out of bed. He wastes a little more time when he realizes he doesn’t have time to do his hair so he’ll need to wear a hat, which means he needs his brown sweater not his blue one, unless he wears his white sweater then he needs to change out of his plaid grey button down to his red one with the collar. He wishes he had enough time to try them both on and compare but he can’t waste the time.  
Once he is ready he physically pulls Kurt out of bed who whines about not falling asleep until three in morning. “Yeah well if you don’t get out of bed you’ll be late for your meeting with the producer” Blaine says as he places Kurt in front of his section of their closest and pulls out a bowtie for himself, “And I told you not to drink that coffee that late yesterday” he nags a little as an afterthought.  
Kurt just whines in reply blinking and moving from the closest to the bathroom.  
Blaine rushes into Oliver’s room and again has to physically pull Oliver out of bed. The only difference is Oliver fights back and clings to his bed whereas Kurt is just not awake to even fight back, but he will crawl back into bed if you don’t get him started on his morning routine.  
“Ollie you need to get up, I overslept and soon we will be running late to the doctors and I don’t know when I can make your next appointment for” Blaine explains handing him some clothes to put on. “I’ll be back in five minutes to make sure you’re dressed and ready to go if you don’t come out first.”  
It’s mornings like these that he misses Sophie, who is away college. Once she joined the track team in high school she became a morning person. She was always up before everyone else. Blaine usually had breakfast ready by the time she was returning from her morning run and sometimes Blaine would run with her.  
He checked the time again and decided he had enough time to have a quick cup of coffee before he ran out the door. Just as he was pouring the hot ready coffee into his mug Kurt came into the kitchen to pour himself a quick cup of orange juice before he left.  
“Did you see if Ollie was ready?” Blaine asked wondering if he would really have to go nag him to move faster.  
“He’s getting his shoes on, don’t worry too much” Kurt answered peeking at his notes for the meeting.  
“I know how much he hates these appointments and we unfortunately don’t have enough time for him to drag his feet there this morning” Blaine clarified. In truth they all hates these appointments.  
“Thank you again for getting off work today to take him” Kurt adds as an afterthought.  
“I knew this meeting was important and couldn’t be rescheduled. And Laura was happy to switch her rehearsal day with mine so not much had to be rearranged.”  
“Just promise to call me when it’s done. I’ll excuse myself from the meeting they will just have to understand.” Kurt lectured worried over the appointment as well.  
“We will text you when the appointment is over so you can call at your convenience. If needed I will call you right away, but it’s going to be alright” Blaine comforted placing his now finished cup of coffee into the dishwasher along with Kurt’s empty glass.  
“No breakfast?” Oliver asked disappoint as he entered the kitchen.  
“They may need to do blood work and I’d rather be able to get it done instead of having to come back,” Blaine answered.  
“I’ll meet you both for lunch wherever you want to make up for skipping breakfast,” Kurt promised giving Blaine a quick peck and Oliver a tight hug goodbye before grabbing his keys and walking out the door. It was only five minutes later before Blaine and Oliver were on their way to the hospital. 

Things were also behind at the hospital. They waited a lot longer than normal for the doctor to come into their room and check out Oliver. Oliver’s stomach growled softly as it hit over twenty minutes of waiting. “Dad…” he whined silently begging for food.  
“It’s won’t be much longer Ollie,” Blaine reassured.  
“I’m a growing boy! I need food!” Oliver exclaimed the boredom and hunger effecting his mood.  
“Alright I’ll head over to the vending machine and get you some pretzels for after.” Blaine gave in stepping out of the room and down the dark quiet hallway to the vending machines.  
As Blaine pulled out his wallet he paused for a second noticing a small girl hiding behind the trashcan out of the corner of his eye. He silently placed the two dollars in the machine and pressed the buttons for pretzels, pretending not to notice her. He grabbed the change and pulled out another dollar buying another bag of pretzels before he dared to directly look at her.  
She was thin and small in her hospital gown. She had some bruises and scratches. Her hair looked like it hadn’t been washed and brushed in a while. She had been staring at him wide eyed her thumb stuck tightly in her mouth. Blaine didn’t want to scare her so he carefully placed himself on the floor across from her. She tried to move back but she was already against the wall, so Blaine put more space between them.  
He smiled softly at her and waved. She didn’t react or move. Blaine wasn’t sure if that was good or not.  
“Are you hiding?” He whispered making sure she wasn’t just lost. She again didn’t react she just watched him closely. “I bet someone is real worried about you or will be when they notice you’re gone.”  
This time she looked down ashamed tears in her eyes.  
“It’s okay to be scared. I’m here with my son and I’m a little scared too. This place can be really intimidating.” Blaine tried again keeping his voice soft. “Maybe we can go back together?”  
She didn’t even have a chance to answer before a rush of medical staff found her and pulled her from her hiding place. Blaine’s heart squeezed as she let out terrified shrieks and fought her way. He wanted to ask about her but before any words came out of his mind they apologized and dismissed him.  
He forced himself to forget about the instance as he made his way back to the room Oliver was in. As he entered the room Oliver was putting his shirt back on.  
“Sorry I got stuck getting pretzels, how does everything look Dr. Martin?” Blaine asked his mind back on why they were there in the first place.  
“Mr. Hummel, everything looks good to me. There aren’t any more than the last time and none have grown in size. We didn’t even take a sample this time, but be sure to keep a close eye on them and of course schedule your regular appointment with me when you leave.” The doctor explained shaking both their hands before leaving the room.  
“What took so long?” Oliver asked curiously.  
“I’ll explain later, right now let’s make your next appointment and get you fed” Blaine answered. 

With all the excitement of Kurt’s play being picked up by the producer he met with Blaine really does forget all about the little girl hiding behind the trashcan. At least until Kurt and Blaine are settled into the couch for the evening. Kurt fixing a button on one of Oliver’s shirts, Blaine reviewing his work for a new musical. The news was on softly in the background until a story catches Blaine’s ear and he stops and turns up the volume, it also intrigues Kurt enough to stop sewing and pay attention. Police had found a young girl had been living in a small cage in a basement for most of her life.  
Blaine feels his heart drop into his stomach when they show her picture. It’s the girl behind the trashcan. When they cut to commercial his mouth goes dry and he feels like he can’t breathe.  
“She … I thought …” His words stumbles. Kurt looks frightened for a minutes and reaches for his hands.  
“Blaine?” He asked worried eyes and all.  
Blaine takes a deep breath before begin again. “When we were at the hospital this morning I went to the vending machine to get Ollie some pretzels. She was hiding behind a trash can. I thought maybe she had cancer or was sick and she was hiding from treatment, but I never thought…” Kurt squeezes his hand to remind him that he’s here. That’s when he realizes he is shaking. “Kurt, the way she was screaming when they found her … I’m not going to be able to stop hearing it now that I know she-” Blaine cuts off shaking his head.  
Kurt turns the television off and pulls Blaine close to him. Blaine knows it’s meant to comfort him but his mind is going a mile a minute. It ends on the thought of her ending up in a family that is just as bad or worse or doesn’t care. “She needs love and care” Blaine thinks out loud.  
“Blaine …” Kurt says softly, maybe it was supposed to be a warning because Kurt knows where Blaine is going with this, but there is no real warning behind the tone.  
“Kurt, we found out what happens to some of those kids in the system when we first looking at having children” Blaine explains.  
“I know and we both agreed that was a responsibility we weren’t ready for. Could you imagine this responsibility?” Kurt reasons.  
Blaine knows this is huge and probably something bigger than they can handle but he has this strong feeling about her and this connection he can’t explain.  
“Kurt she needs us” He breathes hoping Kurt understands.  
Kurt is quiet for a while, thinking. After a while he finally lets out a small breath. “I can’t hurt to do our research and talk to a few experts, but we can’t make a decision or get our hearts set on this. We don’t even know if she will end up in the foster care system” Kurt reasons.  
Blaine just nods in response, but he knows his heart is already set on her.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing they find out is how unprepared they are for her situation. After finding a child psychologist they both like and trust they ask for a recommendation on a class or seminar to be better prepared. Dr. Harrison hands them a folder full of business cards and flyers and pamphlets. It’s overwhelming at first. A Month later Blaine and Kurt both pull back where they can at work. Blaine does all his composing at home and Kurt decided to hand over his current project to a director he values and trusts to uphold his vision and takes up more writing at home. He gets a little side tracked when he begins to think of writing an autobiography the rival Liza Minelli’s.  
It’s another month before they realize how real this is becoming for them. They finished the class and feel more prepared and understanding. They are ready to take the next step so they decide it’s time to bring Oliver into the decision. They debate a little over if they tell him all the details they have since he is only fourteen but they have never hid anything from him before and they don’t want to start now.  
Blaine knocks lightly on his door looking at Kurt nervously, it’s not long when Oliver opens the door. In his room there are books and papers everywhere showing he was doing his homework like they expected him to finish before he heads anywhere else for the evening. He looks at them questioningly.  
“Ollie, we need to talk to you.” Kurt states sitting Oliver on his bed, and sitting across from him. Blaine squeezes tightly next to Kurt. Suddenly both of them are at a loss of words.  
It’s quiet for a moment before Oliver finally asks “Did someone die?”  
“No,” Kurt answers reassuringly. “Your dad and I have been thinking of making a major change and we need to discuss it with you before we decide.”  
“Okay …” Oliver responds cautiously.  
“There’s a little girl we are looking at adopting,” Blaine finally begins taking the easier part of the conversation.  
“I’m guess this is different than when you adopted me?” He asks knowingly now slightly smiling, but drops it when he notices neither of them are smiling.  
“It’s very different,” Kurt answers. “This little girl was severely neglected and abused. The police found her about two months ago.”  
Oliver eyes widen at the seriousness and he looks down at his comforter. Blaine takes the opportunity to pull him close and continue explaining. “When we went to the hospital for your check-up. I found her hiding and I didn’t know anything about her but she was so scared when they found her. Later we saw on the news that she lived most of her life in a cage in the basement.”  
Blaine pauses as Oliver clings to him the thought obviously disturbing him.  
“She’s very sick right now and we may not even be able to adopt, but we wanted to look into it. We just wanted to talk to you and Sophie first before we pursue this any further.” Kurt finishes pushing Oliver’s hair back out of his face.  
“Why would they do that to her?” He asks quietly.  
“I don’t know baby,” Kurt answers softly. “Some people are ill in their heads and do very mean things.”  
He nods thinking a little before asking “Was she kidnapped?”  
“We don’t know for sure, but she is not related biologically to the people who hurt her. She may have been kidnapped or just left at a church or hospital.” Blaine answers slowly, carefully watching Oliver’s face.  
He’s quiet for a while slowly curling more in on himself. Blaine and Kurt just stay there patiently.  
“My mom didn’t want me,” He finally whispers taking a deep breath and holding it in after.  
“Your mother knew she couldn’t care for you the way children needed to be,” Kurt starts grabbing his hands making sure he is playing close attention. “She was around your age when she was pregnant with you. She was young and scared. She wanted to make sure you were well taken care of and loved.”  
“She also believed you always belonged to us,” Blaine adds because it’s true. Oliver knows about all the different struggles with the surrogate and how happy they were when they finally found him and had him. “And we love you and Sophie more than anything else in the world.”  
Kurt nods pressing a kiss to the top of his head to further comfort him.  
“That little girl … she needs someone to love her.” Oliver realizes out loud looking at Kurt and Blaine. “She needs someone like you who won’t give up on her when she is having trouble, who will always love her no matter what.”  
“Does this mean you’re okay with the idea of us adopting her?” Blaine asks after Oliver doesn’t continue, still watching him carefully.  
“Yeah she needs us” he answers surely with a single nod of his head, his red hair falling back into his face.  
This time they both kiss him on the top of his head and hug him tightly.  
Kurt smiles and pushes his hair back away from his face, “You need a haircut, again” He remarks after a moment of silence. “You’ll probably need new clothes soon if your hair and nails are any sign of the rest of you growing.”  
Olive rolls his eyes but smiles.  
“I don’t think either of us are up for cooking tonight so how about we order the takeout of your choice?” Blaine asks changing the subject not ready to think about how fast Oliver is growing. He still is over Sophie leaving for college, he isn’t ready to lose his second baby.  
Oliver nods in response, eyes wide, obviously hungry again. Kurt chuckles lightly at his expression. 

Over dinner they discuss more details about the possible change with Oliver. They go over some of the things they have learned in the classes they took and the research they did. They explain they don’t know a lot of details yet, and what kind of changes he will need to make if they are able to adopt her. His only other question is when he is allowed to meet her. 

They think everything went way better than expected with Oliver. They plan to either see if Sophie can visit for the weekend or video chat her and have the same conversation with her. They don’t plan on moving into a larger home because that means leaving the city, so Sophie would need to move into the guest room until she finishes college and finds her own place. 

Late that night shows that not everything went as wonderful as they thought. Blaine stirs as he hears the door open. He blearily blinks trying open his eyes to see what is happening. He can see a figure with a pillow that is awkwardly standing by the bed. He fights to keep his eyes open as the figure settles down on the floor. He tiredly pushes himself up and detaches himself from Kurt, and now that he is finally free of Blaine’s limbs he rolls away in his sleep murmuring some nonsense.  
“Ollie?” He asks his voice still filled with sleep.  
The figure moves closer and once Blaine’s eyes adjust he sees the tears in his eyes.  
“You okay? Are you sick?” Blaine askes worried reaching to feel his forehead for a fever.  
Oliver shakes his and looks away shamefully, “I had a nightmare” he mumbles slightly embarrassed.  
“Come on, grab your pillow and settle in” Blaine instructs as he moves himself towards the middle of the large bed.  
Oliver rushes over all but jumping into the bed, something obviously frightening him in the dark. He snuggles in and quickly slides a raggedy stuffed lion from his pillow. Blaine is surprised Oliver still kept it close to him after all these years.  
“I haven’t seen Snuffy in a while,” Blaine whispers in a tired voice.  
Oliver shrugs and fiddles with the crooked ear on the lion.  
Kurt mumbles a “he better still gave Snuffy,” causing Blaine and Oliver to chuckle quietly. Kurt has retrieved Snuffy many times, the worst being when Oliver lost it in Disney World and Kurt ran all over the park looking for the treasured toy and then had to fight a mother because her child, who had found and picked up Snuffy, refused to return it.  
“You remember where you got Snuffy?” Blaine asks in a hushed voice trying to be more quiet so Kurt could fall back asleep.  
Oliver shakes his head, and Blaine isn’t surprised he was so young when he got the lion, he’s always had it.  
“Grandpa Burt, Poppy, gave that to you the first time you went to Ohio to visit him. You were only a year old and he pulled out some of Papa’s old toys and you instantly fell in love with his old stuffed lion, but you were allergic to the fur so we had to take it away. You wouldn’t stop crying so Burt went and found you a hypoallergenic stuff lion.” Blaine’s voice is soft and he feels Kurt snuggle close to him at the mention of Burt, still feeling the heart of losing his dad all those years ago.  
Oliver smiles tiredly at the story hugged the lion close and letting his eyes fall shut. It’s not long before Blaine hears him softly snore.  
“Nightmare?” Kurt whispers as Blaine begins to shut his eyes.  
“Yeah, but he’s okay.” Blaine hums in response pulling Kurt’s arm around him and softly kissing his hand in reassurance. 

In the morning Blaine wakes up to Oliver and Kurt haven taken over the bed. Oliver is still snoring softly, while Kurt is mumbling nonsense in his sleep. Blaine carefully, but not easily, gets out of bed without disturbing either of them. It’s Saturday so fortunately none of them need to rush anywhere this morning. He stretches a little before heading out into the kitchen to have some coffee and start breakfast. As he started on the mix for the pancakes he began to make a list of the next steps of the adoption in his head. They would need to find who the needed to speak to first weather that was the case worker and agency or the hospital he wasn’t sure. He also wanted access to all the details on her case. He was so lost in his thought that he didn’t hear Kurt join him in the kitchen, but he did hum when he felt Kurt’s arms wrap around him and felt Kurt press a kiss to cheek, mumbling a morning, voice still filled with sleep.  
“You’re up early,” Blaine remarked pausing before adding “for you I mean.”  
“Without you there Oliver began to kick me instead,” Kurt explained picking at the blueberries Blaine set aside for the pancakes.  
Blaine chuckled lightly shaking his head, “You know … you kick in your sleep too.”  
“Then why do you cling to me like a koala bear when we sleep?” Kurt asked playfully defensive.  
“It keeps you from kicking and hitting me in your sleep.” Blaine answered taking the bowl of blueberries away from Kurt.  
It’s quiet and content for a while as Blaine continues making the pancakes and Kurt begins brewing his morning tea.  
“Maybe we should take him to see Dr. Harrison?” Kurt suddenly asks.  
“Oliver?” Blaine questions.  
“Yeah, if he is starting to have nightmares over this maybe we should take a break from the adoption.” Kurt explains, worried about their son.  
“It was one nightmare so I don’t think we need to end it just yet, but I can’t argue with taking to see Dr. Harrison. If anything it would at least be helpful if we do adopt her. We should probably look in to if he also does family counseling or find someone who does.” Blaine responds turning his attention away from the batter and to Kurt. “If his nightmares progress or get worse we will probably need to put off adopting her.”  
“You can’t do that!” Oliver exclaims in the doorway, clearly upset.  
“Ollie …” Kurt begins carefully.  
“No! She needs us,” he explains still upset and worked up from overhearing their conversation. He takes a deep breath before he continues. “I don’t know any other parents who are as perfect as you two. No other family I know has weekly family night or celebrates things as small as me passing a test or paper. I’m not afraid to tell you guys anything, I don’t keep any secrets from you like my friends do with their parents. And I know Sophie will agree with me. Please don’t give up her because I- “  
Kurt shushes him, cutting his words off, and pulls him close to help calm him down. “No one was giving up on her, baby. We are still going to try to adopt her, as long as Sophie is also okay with it. We were just worried about you.”  
“We were only discussing you see the child psychologist we met with to help you with handling the adoption and the abuse she suffered.” Blaine explains.  
“We only would put it off if you really were not ready to handle it, but you already love her so much without even meeting her yet and that shows you are ready,” Kurt continues.  
“You might just need help with understanding and learning how to cope with it,” Blaine adds.  
Oliver nods thoughtfully, taking deep breaths. He then, surprisingly, hugs both of them tightly. 

The three of them call Sophie after breakfast. It takes her a little longer to be on board with the idea and to understand why they really want to fight for that little girl. She isn’t against it; she’s just worried about the stress it will cause her fathers’ and what it can do to their family. It’s Oliver who gets her to be on board with the idea by explaining how connected he feels to her. Sophie wasn’t adopted like he was, she was always wanted, even before she existed, so she doesn’t have that fear and feeling of not being loved or wanted. He explains that Kurt and Blaine kept him from feeling that way as well, because if it wasn’t for them fighting to have him he may have ended up in a similar situation to that little girls. That’s what makes Sophie change her mind and be fully okay with fighting for her. So she pulls out her agenda and asks for the dates she will need to come home to help them with the process.


	3. Chapter 3

It’s through connections of Kurt’s and a little innocent flirting on Blaine’s half that they get visiting rights. Their adoption agent, Alison, was unable to help because of policy or something but she was able to direct them to the right people. They followed the correct steps carefully, meeting with the right people and filing the right reports. Blaine doesn’t know if he should be surprised or not that they are moving through the process quickly. It took so long with Oliver, but maybe that was because they also needed to find an agent and get into the system of adoption. Now they were already in from before and had a background with them and it’s because of this they are able to meet with her in the hospital. They still have no rights to her files or medical decisions, but they are working on it. And if she likes them enough the agent who was over seeing her case would take them into strong consideration. 

As he and Kurt ride the elevator to the third floor Blaine can feel Kurt’s hands go clammy, and he begins tapping his index finger rhythmically against the stuffed aromatherapy rabbit they got for her.  
“You okay?” Blaine asked worried.  
“Yeah I just … I hate hospitals” Kurt answers. Blaine should have remembered this. Kurt had to watch his mother die in a hospital and his father was in the hospital multiple times throughout Kurt’s life, the last time being when he passed. To Kurt no one came out okay in hospitals.  
Blaine just smiles and squeezes his hands reassuringly, knowing words won’t really help Kurt at the moment.  
They head to the desk and asked again to see her, showing the nurse their visitors pass they received on the main floor. She smiles sadly and asks them take a seat and wait for her doctor to speak with them first.  
Blaine nods and sits, but he sees the color drain from Kurt’s face next to him. “Kurt?” He asks slowly. “They just need to speak with us about how she may react or how we need to approach her.”  
Kurt nods once and fights to keeps himself still in his chair. He has been so stable through the whole process so far, even this morning when Blaine was freaking out over what bowtie to wear for meeting her and when he cried on the way to hospital wondering if she would like him or not. That’s why his behavior now is a surprise to him.  
“When my mom died my dad and I weren’t there, they told us to wait for the doctor to speak with us before going to see her.” Kurt explains after Blaine watches him for a while. “They did the same thing when we lost the second baby.”  
Blaine doesn’t know what to even say to that because it’s true, but he knows they didn’t come this far to be told that it’s too late.  
It’s not long before the doctor comes up and shakes both their hands professionally introducing himself, “Mr. and Mr. Hummel-Anderson it’s a real honor to meet both of you. Alison spoke with me over the phone about your situation and all the steps you have already taken. I must say I am impressed.”  
“Dr. Taylor, thank you for allowing us to come in and see her,” Blaine says as positively as possible.  
“Well both I and Alison agree that that it’s import for us to see how she takes to you. She’s been real skittish around the medical staff and we don’t want to put her in a situation she isn’t ready for” He states glancing quickly at her file before continuing. “Now she is still really ill, we have her on a feeding tube and a couple different IV’s of medicine. Because of the medicine and how undernourished she mostly sleeps and it is import we try not disturb her sleep.”  
“Do you think she’ll be okay with us?” Kurt asked slightly hesitant and worried.  
“It’s hard to tell. She has a better reaction to men than women. We are not completely positive why because she refuses to even try to speak, we know she is able to but she just won’t. We can only assume it was the woman who would abuse her more than the man, but again we don’t know for sure, both were arrested with the same charges,” Dr. Taylor explained.  
“Would it be worth looking into sign language?” Kurt suggested, willing to take all steps to help her be more comfortable with them.  
“It couldn’t hurt, but one step at a time. The police still looking for any relatives and if that doesn’t go anywhere then it goes to the state.”  
Blaine knows then that they are all too invested in her. Their hearts are filled with the hope of bringing her home and watching her grow.  
The room she is in is dimmed and quiet. She immediately flinched inwards at the sight of them. The both smiled softly, Blaine giving her a small wave. They stay in the doorway not wanting to alarm her any further.  
“Do you remember me?” Blaine asks softly. She looks at him closely and then nods her head once. “This is my husband Kurt,” He introduced gesturing towards Kurt.  
Kurt smiled and gave her a little wave, she looks at him more skeptically.  
“We came to visit with you if that okay?” Blaine asked, neither of them moving from their spot till she showed any sign that it was okay.  
She didn’t react she just watched them seeing what they were going to do. Her eyes skimmed them up and down until they froze on the stuffed bunny rabbit in Kurt’s hands. It took a second for Kurt to register what she was staring at.  
“Oh? This is for you, to help you feel better.” He said holding the rabbit up so she can see it better. “It still needs a home and I thought maybe you would like to care of it?”  
It took her a good while before she gave the slightest nod of her head before she looked down ashamed. Kurt handed the rabbit to Blaine, staying the doorway while he brought it to her not wanting to overwhelm her with too many people. They were still testing water.  
Blaine slowly approached her with an encouraging smile and placed the stuffed rabbit within her reach. She gently took it petting it’s ears her expression less scared and more intrigued, but never reaching the point of a smile. As she continued to pet its ears Blaine took the seat next to her bed. Her expression changed to a confused looked and she slowly placed the bunny close to her nose.  
“It smells like lavender and sweet pea,” Kurt said starling her from her trance, “I don’t like the smell of hospitals very much and I thought you might enjoy something more calming.”  
She took deep breaths her eyes wide from being startled. Blaine and Kurt continued to smile encouragingly at her. She stilled eyed Kurt suspiciously but seemed not to mind Blaine was sitting close to her. Blaine could tell Kurt was disappointed that he wasn’t trusted yet and he didn’t really understand her instinct to trust him over his husband but maybe that was something they would discover with time.  
“I hope you don’t mind we came to visit you?” Blaine asks gently not expecting to really get any response.  
She keeps looking between Kurt and Blaine with a confused and somewhat frightened expression.  
“We were hoping to visit you again, and maybe bring our son for you to meet.” Blaine continued to explain not dropping his smile even as she remained quiet and hesitant. “Would you mind that?”  
She eventually turns her attention back to the stuffed rabbit, probably trying to be invisible to all the attention she was getting. They didn’t take offense to it. She was adjusting and on a positive note she no longer looked frightened by them.  
Blaine began to hum gently to her mostly on instinct now, only stopping when he noticed she was fighting to sleep.  
“Are you tired?” He asked.  
She frowned and looked away from him.  
“Medicine makes Kurt tired too,” he mocked whispered causing her lips to slightly twitched upward. “But if you’re feeling tired you shouldn’t try to fight it. You should sleep. It will help you feel better.”  
She stopped trying to avoid looking him and seemed to think it over. Blaine can only guess that she doesn’t enjoy how tired she feels or that the medicine makes her sleepy.  
“Would it help if Kurt and I waited with you while you fell asleep?” He asked.  
She hugged the rabbit to her chest as her eyes began to water. She eventually nodded her head.  
“Maybe I could sing to you, but I would need Kurt’s help?” He asked trying to prevent her from getting too worked up. “Would you like that?”  
She nodded again into her rabbit sniffling a little.  
“Okay, Kurt’s going to come stand behind me then so he can help me sing.” He explained getting up from his chair to hold Kurt’s hand and walk him over. He felt Kurt gently squeeze his hand and he refused to let go even as he sat back down in his chair and Kurt sat behind him.  
Blaine started gently humming a familiar tune, testing to see if she was really okay with them singing. When they began their one of their lullabies they used to sing to Oliver and Sophie they didn’t bring their voices above a soft and gentle whisper. They probably couldn’t even be heard in the hallway or doorway, but she heard them and that’s what’s important. Eventually Blaine would like her to have a song of her own like how Sophie had “Baby Mine” and Oliver had “Here comes the sun” to soothe their tears and settle them down, but for now “Golden Slumbers” will do, it was they song had used on both Sophie and Oliver when they put them to bed as infants.  
She put up a hard fight to stay awake but eventually she gave in and fell asleep, her body relaxing into the pillows and her arms loosening her tight hold on the rabbit as they went. She looked calm for once.  
Blaine had to resist the urge to give her gentle kiss on the forehead and to tuck her in. Kurt’s hand held his tightly to keep him from breaking. They stayed by her side for another couple minutes watching her peacefully sleep until they left the room quietly.  
They didn’t let go of each other’s hands as they walked over to the nurse’s station to grab a tissue.  
Once Kurt’s eyes were dry he cleared his throat once before turning to Blaine, “We are going to do everything we can to get her the love and care she needs. She will not be lost in the foster system or given away to just anyone,” he promised. 

The next time they go to the hospital they bring Oliver. They were hesitant to bring him, and had honestly not planned on bringing him until after she was comfortable with them, but Oliver begged and promised to not overwhelm her, that he would leave if she didn’t take to him the way she had to Kurt and Blaine. They lecture him about how to approach her and act around her. They warn him of her hesitance and nervousness. They explain the physical damage she has on her; the multiple bruises, scars, and burns she has on her skin. They tell him how small she is; she may be seven years old but she is only the size of a four or five year-old. Oliver says he understands and that if he gets too overwhelmed he promises to tell them. So they bring him for their second visit.  
They instruct Oliver to stay by the doorway when they arrive. She’s awake but she still has that over medicated look in her eyes. Blaine knocked on the door gently trying not to startle her and gives her a huge grin when she looks over at the family suspiciously.  
“Remember me and Kurt?” he asks, “may we come in?”  
They don’t wait as long for her to answer with a nod this time and they both stand behind the chair next to the bed, leaving a barrier between her and them. Blaine notices she has some new scratches her arms but does his best not to look at them for too long.  
“I see you are taking very good care of rabbit,” Kurt says nodding to the stuffed bunny tucked under her arm with the hand she is using to suck on her thumb.  
She looks at the bunny and then back to Kurt. She hesitates but then holds it out to him with a sad look in her eyes.  
“No, sweet pea,” Kurt says gently placing the stuffed bunny back in the arm, “rabbit is yours to keep.”  
She nods her head holding it tightly a few tears spilling out of her eyes.  
“We have someone else we would like you to meet if you feel up to it.” Blaine starts looking over to where Oliver is standing in the door way, her eyes following the direction she looks.  
She doesn’t look as nervous at him as she had with Kurt and Blaine, as she still does with Kurt and Blaine. In fact, she looks at him in a similar way to the way she first looked at the stuffed rabbit they gave her.  
“This is our son, Oliver” Blaine introduces gesturing for Oliver to come closer.  
Oliver joins they and waves hello putting a small smile on his face.  
Then she does something that surprises them, she waves back with a small blush on her face.  
Oliver’s grin widens and Blaine can tell he is fighting off his excitement as he takes the seat they were standing behind.  
Seeing she is okay with him, Blaine and Kurt head back over to the bench near the door, not wanting to crowd her.  
“I like your bunny,” Oliver says nodding towards the toy the same way Kurt had.  
She doesn’t hesitate this time she hands it right to him. Oliver smiles and takes the rabbit immediately uses it to tell a story about a rabbit who didn’t know how to hop. Oliver has always been very imaginative so it’s easy for him to come up with a story.  
Her thumb never leaves her mouth as he tells the story she watches wide eyed and amazed. Blaine thinks it’s nice to see her more relaxed and at ease.  
“We should have brought him last time,” Kurt whispers leaning in closely to Blaine.  
It makes Blaine wonder why she is so easily taken to Oliver.  
When they story is finished Oliver hands her rabbit back, thanking her for sharing. She doesn’t hesitate with clutching it under her arm again, eyeing Blaine and Kurt apprehensively.  
“They’re not going to take rabbit back,” Oliver whispers turning her attention back to him.  
“My dads’ gave that to you as a gift and they would never take it back from you. They’re the best people I know,” he begins to explain glancing back at them and smiling.  
Blaine already has tears in his eyes from the statement, and figures once he is done Kurt will too.  
She watches Oliver thoughtfully as he continues to explain.  
“They’re the best dads anyone could hope for. Daddy does the best voices during storytelling, and Papa can make any costume you can think of. They make the best blueberry pancakes with vanilla syrup every Sunday and they sing and dance all the time no matter where we are or who’s watching. They always fix my cuts and scrapes and Papa will even give you cookies after if you don’t fuss too much when he cleans them. They always cuddle me in blankets and let me stay on the sofa to watch all the movies and TV I want when I’m sick. Daddy has a good homemade soup recipe from grandma for when I’m sick too.” He stops taking in a breath looking down at his hands quickly before he looks back at her, “They never give up on me or stopped loving me, even when I deserve it for being a brat. They never give up on anyone”  
Blaine and Kurt and now holding on to each other, overwhelmed with emotion.  
“They can do that stuff with you too if you want that,” Oliver continues, “We would all love you and never let you go either, even when you don’t think you want it we would still love you.”  
She looks past Oliver and to Blaine and Kurt, they nod in confirmation, smiling sweetly to her.  
She no longer looks at them with distrust or hesitance but more of a wanting that makes Blaine want to just scoop her up and hold her tight and never let her go. This time it’s hard to remind himself she still isn’t theirs.


	4. Chapter 4

They begin a routine with visiting her in the hospital. Most visits aren’t long since she sleeps a lot and she isn’t fully comfortable with them, but on a rare occasion they stay a little longer. When Kurt visits he usually reads to her from the doorway since she still flinches when he actually enters to room, he hopes to one day get close enough to brush her hair and paint her nails but it seems like that day is far off. She usually doesn’t acknowledge Blaine when he enters the room, she just watches him and then ignores his presence, so he brings coloring books and different crafts for her to do.  
Then there is Oliver, who was the surprise to both of them. She is still shy around him, but she doesn’t flinch and make herself smaller or ignore him. She usually just smiles into her rabbit when he arrives. Oliver brings different games for to play but it ends up with him playing for her because she’s too nervous to try and maybe she struggles with all the rules as well, they aren’t quite sure since she still doesn’t utter a word.  
Kurt attempts to dig a little further into her case to find out what happened and why she is so taken with Oliver, but he comes up with nothing since she hasn’t spoken since they found her. They don’t even know her name since they have yet to find a birth certificate. Kurt decides to put the rest of his energy into finding out more since no one else seems to think her case is top priority anymore.  
Blaine decides for now they can call her Angel, the same way they used to call Sophie ‘Sunshine’ and Oliver ‘Baby’ when they were little things just learning to talk and walk.  
It’s been almost a month of just them visiting and they are now debating on introducing her to Sophie. They aren’t sure if it will be too much for her to handle, but Sophie is on fall break for two weeks and they don’t hesitate asking her if she wants a plane ticket home. It took more convincing than assumed because her original plan was to stay on campus but she eventually gave in.  
Sophie arrives late Thursday night deciding to take a he first flight after her classes instead of waiting for the next morning. Oliver begs to stay up and wait but Blaine makes him go to bed because his sleep has been suffering since the nightmares started. Blaine is still awake researching speech therapy and looking for sign language tutors when they get home. She immediately rushes to Blaine and clings to him and Blaine just knows that Kurt filled her in on everything in the car ride. He pulls back and looks at her.  
“You cut your hair?” He asks shocked, her once long brown curly hair now resting just about her shoulders.  
She smiles and pushes it behind her ear, “yeah do you like it?”  
“It’s beautiful,” he compliments before kissing the top of her head.  
“Are you hungry?” Kurt asks setting her bag down near the hallway.  
“No, I ate dinner at the airport and had some pretzels on the plane,” She answers.  
Blaine wrinkles his nose at the thought of food at the airport, “I got some of that tea you like.”  
“I’m good you guys, just in need of a shower and a bed. It’s been a long day with classes and then traveling.” She explains with a smile and Blaine suddenly realizes how much he has missed her.  
“Have a good night’s sleep we will see you in the morning,” Kurt smiles and kisses her goodnight like he used to when she was a little girl.  
“Maybe Saturday morning we could go for a run together?” Blaine asks, “Tomorrow you sleep in and I’ll make a nice breakfast for us to enjoy as a family.”  
“That sounds perfect,” she smiles and hugs him one last time before picking up her bag and disappearing down the hall.  
Kurt smiles and begins to rub Blaine’s back, “You wondering why we let her go all the way to California for school too?”  
“She’s all grown up now,” Blaine sighs sentimentally.  
“Not all grown up …” Kurt remarks slowly causing Blaine to look at him curiously, “we do still pay for her cell phone and she still can’t stand needles without holding onto our hands.”  
Blaine lets out a small chuckle dropping his head and shaking, how does Kurt still do this to him after all these years?  
“Come on, let’s get some sleep,” Kurt says through a yawn leading Blaine back to their bedroom. “I believe someone promised to make a family breakfast tomorrow morning.”  
Blaine nods and follows Kurt, but once he is in bed he can’t fall asleep. He hears Kurt’s breathing begin to even out signaling he is almost asleep.  
“Do you think she’ll be okay meeting Sophie?” Blaine blurts out before he can stop himself.  
“Blaine,” Kurt whines in warning.  
“I’m worried,” Blaine admits in a whisper.  
Kurt turns and faces Blaine, blinking a few times as he forces his eyes open, “is this to make up for the night I woke you up to tell you I wanted to adopt?”  
“Kurt,” Blaine’s voice wavers slightly.  
“Okay,” Kurt starts pushing himself up and rubbing his face. “Maybe we rethink the idea of just one of us going with Sophie? Maybe we bring Oliver too, because she likes him enough?”  
“Wouldn’t that just overwhelm her?” Blaine asks.  
“We don’t all have to be in the room, we can wait in the waiting room or cafeteria.” Kurt explains sluggishly, moving closer to Blaine to lean heavily on him.  
“She doesn’t even let you into the room” Blaine responds without thinking.  
“We can’t not introduce her. I don’t want to bring her home or start the adoption without knowing how she is with both Sophie and Oliver. What if she’s really violent towards Sophie?” Kurt reasons, a yawn coming out at the end.  
“You’re right,” Blaine nods and sighs.  
“Of course I am. Now, let’s try to get some sleep” Kurt whispers laying back down and guiding Blaine to do the same. “Like I said before someone promised breakfast tomorrow.”  
Blaine smiles closing his eyes and kissing Kurt’s nose, “night Kurt.” He only got a hum in response. 

The next morning Blaine woke up to the sweet smell of baking. He rubbed his face awake and dragged himself into the kitchen. He paused in the entry a smile creeping onto his face. Kurt was whisking together icing, with his hair still askew and flour smudged on his check.  
Blaine made his way over and wrapped his arms around his husband, who leaned into his embrace and whispering good morning.  
“Nervous?” Blaine asked instead of responding. “I only ask because you are baking and the sun isn’t even up yet, not that I don’t appreciate homemade sticky buns.”  
Kurt dropped all his tension and letting the whisk lean into the bowl. “We still don’t have her birth certificate and the case has been getting neglected, I don’t want her to be forgotten as well. She still has the feeding tube and the IV drip, she doesn’t seem to be getting any strong-“  
Blaine hugged tighter shushing him and cutting off his nerves, “Are they for us or just you?” he asked knowingly.  
“The family,” Kurt answered with mock offense. “I also made a few extra to take with us to the hospital for the nurses and staff who have been so kind to us.”  
“Well with that bribe they might let us take home a newborn as well as Angel,” Blaine joked.  
Kurt lightly smacked him, pouting a little. “Stop picking on me and drink your coffee so you don’t mess up our omelets this morning. I expect mine to be made to order and I don’t want you mixing up ingredients on me.”  
Blaine rolled his eyes fondly pouring himself of the coffee that was waiting for him and starting Sophie’s tea for her. Both her and Oliver should be up soon, fighting over the bathroom.  
Sure enough fifteen minutes later he could hear Oliver shouting at Sophie to hurry up.  
“Sophie you better get out of there soon, me and your dad can’t keep Oliver away from your food for very long,” Kurt joked loud enough for her to hear, winking at Blaine.  
Five minutes later they were sitting down to eat. Having everyone at the table made Blaine feel a little sentimental, bringing him back to the days where he and Kurt were cutting up their food and wiping their chins.  
“You okay, Blaine?” Kurt asked softly reaching across and squeezing his hand.  
“yeah,” Blaine smiled, “I’m perfect.”  
Kurt watched him for another minute before turning his attention back to his food and changing the subject, “So, Sophie, how is school going?”  
“It’s as much as I’d expect. The professors are great and the offices are terrible. I’m still looking for a part time job, but so far I haven’t heard anything back yet.” She filled in around bites of her food.  
“And no trouble with your roommate?” Blaine questioned, worried since Sophie never had to share a room with anyone before.  
“Just that she doesn’t take her studies as serious as me, but most of the time I don’t see her since she stays with her boyfriend most of the time.”  
“Probably ‘cause there isn’t enough room with your fat head,” Oliver teased with a mouth full of food.  
“Be nice to your sister,” Kurt warned, “and besides it’s better than dealing with your snoring.”  
Sophie laughed and Blaine rolled his eyes, he never thought he would miss hearing them bicker but it sent something warm into his heart.  
“Do you think you’re ready to go to the hospital today?” Blaine asked Sophie, but glancing at both Kurt and Oliver too.  
“I don’t think I would ever be prepared, but I know you guys want her to get familiar with me before I go back to school again.” She answered quietly.  
“Can I go today too?” Oliver asked sitting up in his seat.  
“I don’t know Ollie, it can be overwhelming for her,” Blaine answered, side eyeing Kurt.  
“Maybe, Ollie and I can come for moral support then?” Kurt hinted.  
Blaine nodded in confirmation. 

The ride to the hospital was quiet. There was no singing or laughing just silence. They got their visitors passes and headed to floor she currently resided on. Kurt and Oliver broke off to go see if they could get a medical update on her. Blaine led Sophie down to her dimmed quiet room. He paused outside the door, turning and looking at her.  
“Sophie, just stay here while I go in first” Blaine instructed before turning and heading to the door, knocking softly with a smile.  
She looked less sickly pale and a little less sluggish than she usually does, but she is still alert as he knocks on the door and tries to shrink in on herself. He asks if he can come sit next to her and waits for her single nod, which doesn’t take as long as it used to, before slowly moving into the room and sitting in the chair next to her bed and then he realizes one of her IV’s is unhooked and capped. He hopes that means she off one of the medicines they put her on.  
“Did you have a nice morning with Dr. Malcom?” Blaine asked remembering she had a therapy session this morning. He knew he wouldn’t get an answer, she still hasn’t spoken a word to anyone, which makes Blaine wonder if he should bring in a specialist.  
Blaine took a calming breath before continuing, “I brought someone for you to meet today, if you feel up for it?” He started. She looked nervously from Blaine to the empty door. “I would really like you to meet my daughter Sophie. She has been away at school, but she is home for the weekend and we told her all about you and she wants to meet you. She’s a lot older than Oliver.” Blaine pauses and watches her eyes begin to widen and hears her breath slight hitch, her nails dig so hard into her skin that a little bit of blood begins to appear on her arms. Blaine wants to hug her tight, but instead he fidgets in his seat.  
“It’s okay,” he says softly trying to calm her down. “If you’re not ready, you don’t have to meet her. I will understand.”  
A few tears escape from her eyes and she immediately hides herself from him.  
“It’s okay to feel scared and nervous, and I would never make you do anything you didn’t want to do or weren’t ready for, but I would also never let anything bad happen to you.” Blaine explains softly but firm enough to let her know he was telling the truth.  
She turned and looked at him with wide wet eyes. He smiled and nodded at her, and he almost got a smile back when she instead let out a surprise hiccup. He chuckled softly as she slapped a hand over her mouth in shock.  
“It’s alright, you just have the hiccups, let me get you some water.” Blaine explained standing up, “I’ll be right back.”  
As he exited the room he saw Sophie stand from her seat, instantly looking at him with nervous excitement.  
“Not yet,” he explained sadly as her face dropped and she sat back down. “I just needed to get her some water for the hiccups.”  
“Maybe I could bring it back with you?” Sophie asked  
“I don’t know, Soph. I don’t know if she is ready yet.” Blaine explained with a heavy sigh.  
“I could just stay in the doorway like Papa does?” She offered, standing and giving him a pleading look.  
Blaine looked at her thoughtfully, “alright but if she gets too worked up I need you to come back out here.”  
She nodded and tried to fight the smile on her face following him back to her room, stopping at the doorway when Blaine walked over to her bed with the glass of water.  
“Drink it slowly,” Blaine instructed as he handed her the glass of water.  
She did as he told, finishing the water and placing the cup on the small table next to her rather than handing it back to him. She paused for a bit and then Sophie caught her eye. She flinched violently and pointed to the doorway.  
“That’s Sophie, my daughter,” Blaine explained trying to keep a smile on his face even as he watched her withdraw again and begin to panic.  
“She would never hurt you,” he tried again. “She is just going to stay in the doorway and watch us color or listen to the movie I brought.”  
Blaine thought he could feel his heart actually crack at the look of distrust and slight betrayal she gave him. He forced himself to ignore it. “Ollie brought a game to try and Kurt brought back the book he was reading. They are in the hallway right now. We all came to see you today.”  
She turned away from him covering her ears and curling tightly.  
Blaine should have known better, but he couldn’t stop himself. He reached out and placed a gentle hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her.  
She turned around quickly, flinching further away from him letting out an animalist hiss. If she could she probably would have leapt out of the bed, but the bars on the side prevented her from leaving them. She looked at Blaine with some much hurt and anger.  
Blaine did everything he could to stay composed. He heard Sophie whisper “Dad” in a worried voice, but Blaine didn’t know if it would be right to leave her now. She may have been angry with him and hurt but he needed her to know it was okay to feel like that and just because she got angry didn’t mean he would give up on her.  
She again began to claw and scratch at her arms until they bled.  
“Angel, please don’t do that-” Blaine said helplessly but she ignored him, only growing more upset and unable to control her emotions.  
Again Blaine’s time with her was interrupted with a storm of medical staff racing in and restraining her. One of them tried to escort Blaine out of the room but he stood firm refusing to leave her. She began to shriek and scream and cry as they held her still, one of them dispensing a liquid into her IV.  
Blaine tried to reassure her it was okay and she was okay but he isn’t positive his words were heard over her outburst. He watched in horror as she instantly grew sluggish, breathing heard, and her eyes falling shut.  
One of the nurses adjusted her and tucked her in. Another handed the doctor a file who began to jot down a few notes.  
Blaine felt sick from watching it happen.  
“Mr. Hummel-Anderson I’m sorry but I think it would be best if you left for today,” the Doctor instructed robotically.  
“What did you just give her?” Blaine asked ignoring his instructions.  
“I can’t-” he started to say but Blaine cut him off.  
“You just gave her a sedative. She’s sick. She’s scared and you just-” Blaine began to answer for him, in shock. But he stopped at the warning look the doctor had given to him. He had no rights to act in making medical decisions for her. They could deny that he saw her again, file a report on him for making her upset.  
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” he informed the doctor instead.  
“I think that would be a good idea,” the doctor responded escorting Blaine out of the room.  
Sophie was waiting for him with a scared and ashamed look that told Blaine she was the one who informed the staff of what was happening. Blaine wonders if he would have gotten her to calm down on her own again, maybe if he just let her be angry and stayed by her side she would have eventually come down from high uncontrollable emotions.  
Kurt and Oliver were also there, probably rushing over with the commotion. Without any hesitation Kurt held onto Blaine’s hand as they left the hospital. 

The car ride home wasn’t silent like on their way to the hospital. At first it was quiet, but Oliver was angry with them, mostly Sophie. Kurt warned him once he began lash out and that was the end of it. When they got home he stormed to his room slamming the door behind him.  
“I’m so sorry,” Sophie begs immediately with wet eyes and voice.  
Blaine and Kurt both pull in her tightly hugging and kissing her, showing it’s okay and that she did nothing wrong.  
“We knew it was a gamble, you were the first female she has encountered since she was rescued. She has only male medical staff attending to her for that reason. And maybe it wasn’t even you. We don’t really know what set her off exactly,” Blaine explains, forcing himself to calmer.  
“We’ll talk to Oliver and explain everything,” Kurt adds in before explaining why he was mad in the car. “He was scared and probably still is. He isn’t really angry at you or us.”  
Blaine nods in agreement.  
“Okay,” Sophie whispers sniffling a little. “I’m going to go be alone for a little bit.”  
“That’s fine, Sunshine,” Kurt responds. “I need to talk to your dad about something anyway.”  
She nods and walks away, her head down and shoulders slumped in defeat.  
Blaine looks at Kurt worried, “Is this about what happened?”  
“No,” he says shaking his head. “I found some new information, but I think we should go back into our room first.”  
Blaine nods in agreement, following Kurt’s lead into their room. He sits down on their bed as Kurt begins to pace nervously.  
“Kurt please,” he begs worry only growing.  
Kurt sighs and sits down next to him, holding his hands tightly.  
“I was able to get more information of what happened to her … there,” he settles on the words, obviously not liking how it sounds but continues forward. “They were giving her testosterone injections.”  
Blaine can feel the bile rise in his throat, and Kurt must feel sick at the thought because he sees all the color drain from his face.  
“They also found another body,” Kurt quickly adds before he can’t continue. “It was a boy, maybe a year older than Oliver.”  
And now Blaine can’t even breathe. She wasn’t the only child in that house. How many more were there?  
“Maybe it’s why she is so comfortable around him,” Kurt reasons after Blaine doesn’t respond.  
He doesn’t say anything, he can’t. He just clings onto Kurt breathing hard and letting the tears fall.  
Kurt doesn’t say anything either and he holds on just as tight.


	5. Chapter 5

Blaine does go back to the hospital the next day. He tries to go alone but Kurt doesn’t give him the option, insisting they need to do this together.  
She’s asleep when they get there. Something they are not used to seeing, since she usually fights to stay awake. Her arms are now bandaged and her IV that had been capped off before is attached again, making Blaine wonder what the medicine in it does. Is it to make her numb and live in this hazy space between awake and asleep?  
“We’ll get her off of it,” Kurt says with certainty making Blaine smile halfway. Kurt has had more practice being in hospitals than Blaine. He knows how to get what he wants from the staff, when to push and when to stand back.  
“They will never be sedating her like they did again,” Kurt continues when Blaine doesn’t respond. “We will get Dr. Harrison to come in and take her case, and we will get her under our custody, even if it’s only temporary. I already plan on talking to the agency today once they open and maybe we should look into a lawyer …” he trails off when he notices Blaine looking at him with a fond smile and bright eyes, “what?”  
“I just love you a lot,” Blaine says simply with a wet voice.  
Kurt smiles and leans in giving him a quick sweet kiss.  
When they move apart and break eye contact they notice she’s awake and looking at them, well looking in their direction, her expression emotionless.  
“Hey, Angel, did you sleep well?” Kurt asked without hesitation like everything is normal, like when it was Oliver or Sophie waking up from a nap when they were little. Blaine wonders if this should feel normal, but he doesn’t think he could ever get used to seeing someone so sick and broken in the hospital.  
She didn’t respond, she just looked away uncomfortably.  
“Do you need or want anything?” Kurt pushed forward.  
She shifted uncomfortably make a painful sound in her throat.  
“We can’t help you if you don’t tell us what you need?” Kurt reminded gently, adjusting the edge of the blanket, frowning slightly at the touch.  
It took a while, but after they both waited patiently she looked at them touched her throat.  
“Your throat is sore,” Blaine answered for her with a smile, “well we can get you some ice to try to make it feel better.”  
She looked back down and nodded once shamefully.  
“I’ll go get you some ice,” Kurt smiled at her before pulling out his phone and walking out of the room.  
Blaine watched him suspiciously. He was obviously up to something. He turned his attention back to her when he heard another whine. She was trying to scratch at the IV’s in her hand.  
“Careful,” Blaine whispered trying not to scare her, but she still looked up harshly and fearful at him. “It’s alright, you just need to be careful with the IV. I know it itches but try not to scratch.”  
She let her head drop back down with her hand.  
Blaine let out a sigh with her disappointment, feeling guilty.  
“Kurt always has lotion with him, we can try that to stop the itching if you would like,” he offered, hoping it would help.  
She continued looking down at her hands, but her face scrunched up in confusion.  
“Do you know what lotion is?” Blaine asked cautiously, trying not to embarrass her.  
She didn’t respond, she just turned her head away from him.  
“Kurt is going to be so excited to show you what it is,” Blaine smiled, fighting a light chuckle to not embarrass her.  
“Show her what?” Kurt asked bright with the cup of ice chips in his hands.  
“Well her IV is bothering her so I mentioned you had lotion with you to try.” Blaine explained, following Kurt’s lead of trying to act normal.  
Kurt’s eyes widened at him, and Blaine couldn’t help but shake his head at Kurt’s excitement of the world of lotions and cleansers and conditioners to introduce her to.  
“Okay, first we’ll try the ice for your throat and then I will help with the lotion,” Kurt instructed.  
She looked in their direction again, slowly, and with caution. She didn’t look at them, she never really ever looked at them. It was either at their ear or their feet, but never at them. She flinched as Kurt tried to hand her the ice. He took a deep breath and looking to Blaine for help.  
Blaine moved slowly, cautiously. He was determined to show her they would never harm her and maybe he needed to push lines to do that. He lowered one of the bars next to her bed, and sat down next to her, guiding Kurt to do the same.  
Her breathing quickening and her eyes filled with panic. Blaine waited for her to lash out, but she just seemed to curl in on herself trying to be small and invisible.  
“It’s alright,” Blaine hummed gently, “you’re okay.”  
Her eyes began to water and she tried to scratch her arms, but the bandages prevented her from irritating her skin further.  
Blaine made sure she was watched when he took one of the ice chips and placed it in his mouth. He repeated the action with Kurt.  
Kurt held out the cup for her to take an ice chip.  
After a while of staring at them and breathing hard she reached out a shaking hand and took an ice chip quickly placing it in her mouth.  
“See, all better,” Blaine praised.  
She slowly took another one, watching them carefully like they would suddenly take it away from her.  
“You’re doing wonderful,” Kurt added, “you’re being so brave.”  
It was after her third one she finally began to breath normally again.  
“You want to try some lotion now?” Kurt asked, handing Blaine the cup of melting ice.  
Blaine moved back to his seat letting Kurt take over. He reached into Kurt’s bag and pulled out a small container of hand lotion, handing it over to Kurt.  
Kurt waited for nod of approval before putting some of the lotion in his hands. He smoothed it in-between his two hands before holding one out for her.  
She cringed as she placed her hand in his, her tears now overwhelming her face and shaking uncontrollably. Kurt began to hum as he smoothed the lotion gently into her hand, careful and mindful of her IV. They repeated it with her other hand.  
Kurt didn’t hesitate when he was done to move off of the bed, putting the side bar back up.  
“You did a very good job,” Kurt complimented. “Does it feel better?”  
She didn’t respond she just looked at her hands with amazement.  
Both of them smile fondly, proudly, from their seat. This was a big step for all of them that makes Blaine lose all doubt of his ability to help her.  
“How about we read some more of our story?” Kurt suggests next pulling out the book he has been reading to her.  
She hugs her stuffed rabbit tightly in her arm, and her thumb slowly slides into her mouth as Kurt begins to read aloud. Kurt gets Blaine to help with him some of the characters and soon they have nice rhythm down. Her expression is still unreadable, not really having any emotion, Blaine supposes that means she’s content or happy since she doesn’t show any extreme fear or distress. She also still doesn’t directly look at them, but she looks comfortable.  
It’s not long after that, that she becomes weighed down with sleepiness. She begins to slump further down her stack of pillows and fights to keep her eyes open.  
“Don’t fight it, Angel. We’ll be here when you wake up again.” Blaine says, interrupting the story and watching her fight her tiredness.  
Her eyes are teary, but it’s not from fear or hurt just from fighting to stay awake. Kurt gets a few more sentences out of the story before she falls asleep.  
“You okay by yourself for a little while?” Kurt asks as he stands and pulls his jacket back on.  
“By myself?” Blaine responds confused.  
“I want to call the agency and Dr. Harrison before I approach her doctor here at the hospital,” Kurt explains but doesn’t look like he is telling the full truth.  
“Why do I feel like there is more to that statement?” Blaine questions.  
“I’ll bring you back some coffee,” Kurt answers and Blaine knows he won’t be getting the full explanation until Kurt returns from wherever he is going.  
Kurt leans in and gives Blaine a quick kiss before leaving.  
Blaine watches him go until he can’t see him anymore and then turns his attention back to the little girl sleeping in the bed. They really need to find her name, find out who she is.  
He decides to take the time to study her closely. Her hair is still thin and greasy and long, as far as he can tell it’s a lighter brown. Once she was better they would probably need to cut a healthy amount of length off of her hair. Her nails were also in desperate need of a good trim. On her left hand there was a burn scar between her index finger and thumb. The bruises have slightly faded since when he first saw her, but she is still severely underweight.  
Before he could let himself get too depressed from what happened to her, he forced himself to think of their future with her and watching her learn and grow. Even if they were unable to adopt her, he would make sure she was still a part of their lives. 

It’s two hours later when Kurt returns with some bags in his arms and a coffee cup in his hand. As he enters the room he instantly hands Blaine his coffee he promised him after dropping the bags on the floor by the door.  
“Has she slept this whole time?” he asks Blaine after he sees she’s asleep similar to how he left her.  
“No, she was a while ago but they needed to give her more antibiotics and they just made her tired. It took her forever to fall back to sleep even though she was clearly exhausted from the medicine,” Blaine answered steadily watching as Kurt fixed the rabbit so it was tucked neatly under her arm.  
Kurt hummed in response, a frown on his face.  
“I would ask what took you so long but,” Blaine gestured to the bags, “I think I know.”  
“Actually what took so long was all the phone calls and favors I had to ask and beg for.” Kurt said matter-of-factly.  
“Then what is all that stuff?” Blaine asked, taking a sip of his coffee thankful to have someone like Kurt who knows exactly how he likes his coffee, even if he himself doesn’t know exactly how to make it correctly.  
“Stuff to make this place less of a hospital,” Kurt answered grabbing one of the bags and pulling out several items, “I got a couple of pajamas so she can get out of the hospital gown, a robe, socks, slippers, hats and head scarfs. In the other bags there are towels, bath products and other essentials, a blanket and pillow case that are a lot softer than the one’s here, and stuff to keep her busy like puzzles and color books and a drawing pad.”  
Blaine shuffled through the bag almost teary eyed at seeing small children’s clothes.  
“And I know she isn’t a baby, but I did get her some binkies since she sucks her thumb so much for comfort,” Kurt added pulling out a pack of pacifiers.  
“We can break the habit later,” Blaine agrees before he can stop and remind himself she isn’t theirs’.  
“I also had Sam take the kids to get their hair cut” Kurt continued explaining his day not even flitching or thinking about Blaine’s slip up. Blaine’s worried Kurt has already told himself she belongs to them and has forgotten the odds against them not being able to adopt her.  
“Didn’t Sophie just cut off most of her hair?” Blaine asked.  
“I went back over the news reports looking for anything to help me get more documentation and I found this picture of the woman they arrested,” Kurt explained pulling out his phone and handing it to Blaine. Sure enough there was a woman, who looked a lot older than they were, with brown hair cut in a similar simple way Sophie’s hair was originally cut, though it was much less kept than Sophie’s hair.  
“So what does Sophie’s hair look like now?” Blaine asked handing Kurt back his phone.  
“I promised her you wouldn’t freak out,” Kurt says instead of answering.  
“Kurt-” Blaine starts but is instantly cut off.  
“She got a pixie cut with long bangs, and added some purple to her hair, not extreme just a change,” Kurt continues to explain, ignoring Blaine’s warning, slightly worried look.  
“It’s not as bad as the pink Quinn from high school had, right?” Blaine asked trying not to cringe at the imagined image of Sophie with that same awful pink color.  
“Nothing at all as awful as Quinn’s DIY skank hair,” Kurt reassures before pulling out his phone and typing out something.  
Blaine sips his coffee contently, looking through some of the stuff Kurt bought.  
“Now,” Kurt says clapping his hands together after putting his phone away, “I set a meeting up with a lawyer to see if we can get any custody rights, and once we get them Dr. Harrison agreed to take on her case and make scheduled hospital visits.”  
Blaine doesn’t respond right away. He needs to process everything.  
“It’s just to speed up to process,” Kurt adds when Blaine doesn’t respond. “It’s just to help us take the next steps.”  
Blane nods in response. He doesn’t doubt she isn’t worth the fight, because she is. It’s the nagging feeling of what if even after he fights with everything he has they still lose.  
“Usually I’m the optimistic one,” Blaine finally responds after another sip of his coffee.  
“I think we decided to take turns somewhere between getting married and having Sophie,” Kurt explains.  
Blaine knows to leave it at that and not push the matter much further. It’s Kurt’s way of being there for him right now and doing everything he can. If Kurt wasn’t the one taking care of these roadblocks he would be worrying himself into an OCD attack, so Blaine lets him take over where he needs and maybe it’s what he needs right now too.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a part of Chapter 5 but I messed up.

While she is still sleeping Blaine leaves Kurt and her alone for a little bit to stretch his legs and get some air. Oliver and Sophie will be here soon for a short visit before they go out for dinner. He is just about to reach the elevator when he hears one of the nurses calling his name.  
“Judy,” he greets with a smile. She has been one of the main nurses taking care of her, and even though she often gives her a hard time Judy has never lost patience with her or invested less time with taking care of her. Other nurses have tended to fear or stay away from her since she is easily upset and led to outbursts.  
“I am so glad I caught you,” she says as she leads him back to the desk in the center of the floor. “I have some good news and bad news, which do you want first?”  
“The good news” Blaine say unsurely.  
“The officer on the case found a birth certificate that belongs to her,” she answers showing him a copy.  
Blaine studies the paper and can’t hide the grin from his face, but something isn’t right, there is information missing. “What’s the bad news?”  
“It’s not an official document, we can’t find her anywhere in the system. It’s as if she never existed,” Judy explains.  
“But how can that be?” Blaine asked confused, chest feeling heavy.  
“Her birth mother probably was here illegally, at least that’s what the officer was suggesting for the reason of no documentation,” she begins to explain. “The paper was taped to inside of a blanket and the prints match hers so it definitely belongs to her.”  
“What does this mean for her?” Blaine asks after letting the new information set in.  
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it, citizenship laws are confusing and complicated. No one has stepped in to claim her and they haven’t found any relatives. Just try to focus on the good news.” She reasons with a supporting smile.  
Blaine hums in response and the smiles brightly again, because this does mean so much.  
“You’re doing good things for her. Before you came along she was failing to survive, she wasn’t getting better despite everything we were doing.” She compliments sincerely. “It also doesn’t hurt that you and Kurt spoil all us nurses with your baked goods.”  
Blaine thanks her one last time and then rushes back to her room and finds her awake. Kurt is still in his chair, but he is showing her all the things he has bought for her to wear, probably trying to get her to pick one. The two of them startle when he runs into the room. It takes him a second to calm himself so he doesn’t scare her any further, he just couldn’t help his excitement.  
“Blaine,” Kurt squawks startled, “I thought you were going for a walk?”  
Blaine ignores him and walks slowly over to her bed side. He lowers the bar on the side and edges himself onto the bed. She’s curling in on herself the closer he gets, and she refuses to look at Blaine, but he pushes the line and stays where he is.  
“Riley …” he calls watching her carefully. He hears Kurt’s breath hitch behind him. She looks up at him slowly and actually looks at him, something different in her eyes. Blaine isn’t sure what it is, but it isn’t the fear he is used to seeing.  
“Riley, that’s your name,” he begins again. “I’m not sure if …” he stops not sure if he should continue, he decides to choose his words carefully, not wanting to bring them up before he has no other option. “Maybe that isn’t the name you’re used to being called, but one of the police officers dropped off your birth certificate and that was the name printed on it.”  
Her reaction is hard to read. It’s obvious she isn’t used to hearing the name, and Blaine wonders if she even remembers or knows it is her name. Maybe if she doesn’t like it they can change it.  
Kurt has tears in his eyes and tests the name on his tongue a few times. Blaine can tell Kurt has so many more questions, but he doesn’t ask any of them.  
“Would it be okay if we called you Riley?” Blaine asks her.  
She looks away from him and looks to Kurt for the correct answer, but once he repeats Blaine’s question she looks down at her lap hugging the rabbit close to her again. At first Blaine is worried she will have another panic attack, but she seems to be doing the opposite and trying to calm herself.  
She finally nods her head that single time like she usually does. She doesn’t look back up at them she just keeps squeezing the rabbit closer to her and Blaine, again, has the fight his instinct as a parent to scoop her up and hug her and comfort her.  
“Well, Riley, what do you say we clean you up a little more and replace the sheets and blanket?” Kurt suggests slowly, almost begging.  
Blaine worries that it’s too much, too soon, but she surprises him and instead agrees, loosening her hold on her rabbit and letting her arms fall to her sides. Her expression isn’t fear or the opposite relief, it’s just blank like she has no choice but to accept what is happening.  
“You will feel more comfortable after we change you out of the hospital gown and into the pajamas Kurt found for you,” Blaine reasons, not sure if he is speaking to Riley or himself.  
She nods again still not looking up.  
“Do you need help or do you want to do it by yourself?” Kurt asks, holding the pajamas.  
She looked away, he cheeks reddening.  
“It’s okay, we can do this without removing your hospital gown.” Kurt began as Blaine call for a nurse to help with her IV’s and other monitors.  
Blaine helped her pull her arms out of the pale itchy hospital gown, holding it in place once it was removed. Kurt pulled the soft pink shirt over her head gently, helping to guide her arms through the holes. The pants were only a little more difficult because of her hesitation and embarrassment of having to show more of herself to them. The nurse stepping in and helped so she really wouldn’t have to pull herself out from the covers. Once they were done changing her the nurse reattached her IV’s and monitors, discarding the gown on her way out.  
Riley touched the pajamas carefully with her fingers, amazement in her eyes. The bright color seemed off on her, but it was certainly better than the dull thin gown the hospital provided.  
“Now, just a couple more things and we are all done,” Kurt started to explain. “Blaine and I want to put some new sheets and a blanket on your bed. They are a lot softer and the blanket is a lot warmer if you want to try them?”  
She nodded once again, but with no more hesitation. She was distracted by the soft fabric of the pajamas enough for them to get the new sheets and blanket on her bed. Blaine lowered the bar on the opposite side of Kurt and helped Riley down into the chair he usually sat in, giving her the stuffed rabbit she had grown attached to.  
By the time they were done changing the bed she was now almost buried in the new blanket, pillows, and stuffed animals. Blaine had to fight a chuckle at the sight, maybe Kurt had gone a little overboard.  
“Oliver is going to come by soon and visit you, do you think you are up for it?” Blaine asked once she was settled and comfortable.  
She nodded shyly and buried her face into the stuffed rabbit to hide her red cheeks.  
“Sophie also wanted to stop by and see you before she leaves for school, but we can tell her you’re not ready if you don’t want to see her.” Blaine explains further watching her reaction carefully.  
Riley doesn’t really respond.  
“We won’t leave you just because you’re not ready to see her, but please know she would never hurt you and would never let anyone hurt you ever again,” Kurt adds in when she starts to turn herself off to them. “Blaine and Me will hide you in between us if we have to.”  
She hides her smile in the rabbit once more.  
They decide it’s a sign to move forward and squeeze onto the bed. They don’t push too far, she stays in her own spot rather than in their laps, but she is nestled comfortably between them. She doesn’t move at first, she is stiff and still, waiting for something. But after a while of nothing happening, and Blaine and Kurt not questioning her frightened behavior she settles in.  
It’s not long when there is a soft knock on the door and they see both Oliver and Sophie looking hesitantly into the room.  
“Hey guys, we have someone we want you to formally meet,” Kurt says with a smile. “Oliver, Sophie this is Riley.”  
Blaine watches Sophie melting at the sight of them and the sound of her name. He knows how much it bothered her that she didn’t have an official name, which prevented her from a real identity. Oliver on the other hand was more like an excited dog trying to stay still.  
“Riley it’s nice to meet you,” he says as he approaches her bedside and holds out his hand.  
She looks at him curiously and then looks to Blaine.  
“He wants you to shake his hand so he can introduce himself,” Blaine explains.  
They wait patiently for her to take his hand. Blaine watched as he held a loose grip and shook it slowly and gently.  
“My name’s Oliver, but my family and friends call me Ollie,” he says with a mocking formal tone, which causes her to have to hide a small smile in her stuffed animal again.  
Then Sophie inches forward and catches her eye. She looks at her curiously after she tries to hide behind Kurt and Blaine and disappear into the pillow behind her.  
“That’s my older sister Sophie,” Oliver introduces.  
Riley isn’t as instantly turned off to her as she was before, so they call the hair a win, plus Riley can’t seem to take her eyes off it. But when Sophie comes further into the room she does flinch. Their relationship will take time.  
“How about we all watch a movie?” Kurt suggests, “Sophie why don’t you pick a movie for us all to watch.”  
“Sure papa,” she answers with a bright smile browsing the movies downloaded on the tablet  
for them to watch.  
“No, Papa! She’s going to pick The Muppets,” Ollie whines playfully.  
“I happen to like The Muppets,” Blaine playfully warns back.  
After the movie starts and they are all settled in, Riley begins to slowly sink down into the bed more and her eyes begin to droop.  
“Go ahead and get some sleep, angel.” Blaine whisper to her sliding gently off the bed so he can tuck her in.  
She nodded once more, her lips slightly twitching upward before she tried to slip her thumb into her mouth.  
“Oh, here try this” Kurt said gently pulling out the binkies.  
She looked startled at his soft voice, but she didn’t get far in her freaking out in fear because Kurt immediately handed her the binkie gesturing for her to place that in her mouth instead. Her eyes were wide and watery, she looked like she was being punished or scolded. After she realized she was staring and hadn’t done as she was asked she quickly placed it in her mouth hugging her rabbit closely and hiding the sheets and blankets. She soon settles again when she finds it’s soothing and not a punishment.  
Blaine considers today a big win for them and he finally feels like maybe he is doing right by her.


	7. Chapter 7

The lawyer certainly speeds things along and takes a large burden off of Blaine and Kurt. They still don’t have any rights to her, she still belongs to the state, but they are actually seeing paper work now. They also no longer need to constantly call the adoption agency to make sure they are staying on top of their case. They are able to fully focus on making her more comfortable and trying to make her better, healthier in any way they are able to. The most current goal is to get her to start eating so the doctors can remove the tube that feeds her the nutrients she needs.  
Since moving forward and giving Riley some new things to help her feel comfortable in the hospital she has begun to cling to Blaine. She welcomes Kurt and still seems to enjoy Oliver’s company the most, but for reasons they aren’t sure of she begins to cling to him. She is still extremely shy and cautious around all of them, but it’s the little things that show she is starting to find comfort in Blaine. She lets him give her ice when her throat is sore; she draws him a picture or two when they color together, Blaine isn’t sure exactly what the pictures are but he still thinks they are beautiful; she lets him tuck her in when she’s falling asleep. The one thing they definitely notice is how Blaine is the only one she really looks at rather than past, she is no longer afraid to look at his face and eyes. But mostly they are able to tell she is no longer tense with him there.  
Of course Kurt is jealous. He tries not to be and thinks Blaine can’t tell, but Blaine never misses the disappoint and slightly hurt expression on his face when she flinches and shies away from him. Blaine knows it’s not his fault, he also knows that Kurt can’t help feeling this way. It begins to make things tense and it eventually leads to a fight.  
Blaine has no idea how the fight even started but it was quickly escalating. They were both stressed and worried and busy so it’s not much of a surprise when it happens.  
“What’s this really about, Kurt?” Blaine remarks crossing his arms over his chest. He knows that this is really about he needs to know that Kurt knows what it is really about.  
“Don’t start” Kurt begins to sneer back, but Blaine let’s out a mocking sharp chuckle.  
“You started it when you began nit-picking at me all week,” Blaine snapped. “It’s like when we first really tried living together.”  
“We both moved on from that,” Kurt cuts in hands not on his hips.  
“I’m not bringing it up, I’m just trying to explain what I feel like,” Blaine fumed before mumbling, “something you never do.”  
“I cannot believe you just said that” Kurt responded looking like he had been slapped. He turned from Blaine and began to walk away.  
“Kurt I-” Blaine deflated a little, feeling guilty and following him.  
“Don’t,” Kurt turned and hissed warningly. “I want to be alone.”  
“Why so you can stay mad at me?!” Blaine demanded, continuing when Kurt ignored him. “Why can’t you just tell me what’s wrong?!”  
“I need time to think!” Kurt exploded before stomping off and slamming the bedroom door behind him.  
Blaine let out an agitated groan rubbing his hands over his face. After a minute of debating he grabbed his coat and keys and headed to the hospital.  
Blaine knew it probably wasn’t the best idea to visit Riley after being stressed from a fight with Kurt, but he pushed the fight out of his mind and put his concentration on her. He was across from her on the end of the bed, trying to get her to eat some unsalted crackers, they might make her throat dry but at least if he got her to eat them they shouldn’t upset her stomach. It reminds him a lot of when Sophie was a baby and they had trouble finding a formula that wouldn’t upset her stomach. It turned her off eating for a while, it got so bad at one point all she did was suck on dry Cheerios. Sophie is still a pretty picky eater and can tend her like her food a certain way, but he isn’t sure if that has to do with Kurt’s influence or her bad experiences with good when she was growing up. Maybe on his next visit he would stop and get Cheerios for her to try.  
He watched as she picked and messed with crackers but they never actually made it to her mouth to try to eat.  
“Riley, angel, you need to try to eat” Blaine nearly begged. “Why don’t we both try one?”  
Blaine took one of the unopened packets, placing one of the crackers in front of her and taking one for himself. She took a hesitant bite after he placed his cracker in his mouth. She chewed slowly licking the bits that stuck to the bad of her teeth and roof of her mouth after making a face at the taste.  
“Oh, it isn’t so bad, just a little dry” Blaine smiled.  
She took another bite, so Blaine hoped she didn’t hate it too much.  
“Pretty soon we will have you trying other foods, and once you’re strong enough and show the doctors you can get your nutrients on your own they will remove the tube that is feeding you now,” Blaine explained as he started to clean up the crumbs.  
Riley chewed her last bit of cracker a little more normally, after getting used to the taste a texture. When she finished Blaine handed her a cup of water with a straw instructing her to drink it slowly.  
The way the knock on the door was so soft and hesitant Blaine expected it to be Kurt standing there in the door way. To his disappointed it was one of the young officers put on Riley’s case.  
Blaine gave a reassuring smile to Riley, reminding her it was okay, as she pulled the covers closer to her.  
“What can I help you with, Officer?” Blaine asked with as much confidence as possible  
“Luke, and actually I wanted to talk with Riley here” Luke replied opening a large file.  
“No” Blaine said with certainty, standing and putting himself between Luke and Riley.  
“Sir, I know you’re concerned but” He started to explain but Blaine didn’t give him time.  
“I said no, she doesn’t need that stress right now. She’s trying to get better and you want to put her mind back into a space where she wasn’t safe. I can’t let you do that. I’m sorry but now,” Blaine responded for her.  
“Without her they could get away or have a short sentencing,” he tried to explain.  
“You’ll just have to try another way, I’m sorry you came out here for nothing” Blaine said firmly, dismissing him.  
“I am sorry to upset you, but my boss sent me to talk to her. I understand why you may feel protective of her, but you have to understand you don’t actually have- “  
“It’s time for you to leave” Blaine cut him off escorting him out the door.  
Blaine let out a breath after he got the officer out the door. He turned around smiling at her, she was hiding behind the rabbit.  
“How about a story to settle us down?” Blaine suggested trying to distract her from the possible thoughts that were running through her head. 

When he got home after visiting hours Kurt was sitting in their bed applying his nightly moisturizer.  
“Where is Ollie?” Blaine asked after checking his room to say goodnight.  
“Staying with Lydia and Mike to work on a project or something,” Kurt answered.  
“Think Mike will finally realize he’s gay?” Blaine asked trying to make conversation.  
“From what I heard he is dating another girl, the one he cheated on his last girlfriend with. I just hope Lydia has finally stopped pining for him” Kurt responded still rubbing the lotion into his skin.  
“How was she?” Kurt asked quietly not looking up as Blaine began to get ready for bed.  
“She ate some crackers today, so that’s progress” Blaine answered honestly. “An officer dropped by trying talk to her.”  
That made Kurt finally look up. “I thought they got everything they needed from her between the physical exam and the photos, the fact that that they found her in the house.”  
“I did too, but apparently they need to ask her more questions to get more evidence or something,” Blaine responded.  
“And you just let them?” Kurt questioned judgmentally.  
“Of course I didn’t let them. I know you think I can’t handle these things but I am actually quite capable.” Blaine responded trying not to be offended.  
“Then why am I the one who is handling the lawyers and paper work and media?” Kurt ranted.  
“Kurt, are we ever going to get what this is really about or am I going to have to sleep in the guest room?” Blaine asked exhausted from their constant bickering.  
“Why does everyone always like you better?!” Kurt finally snapped.  
“What?” Blaine whispered, honestly confused.  
“Oh don’t pretend you don’t know. Everyone instantly likes you without reason or thought; every audition you have call backs, you even got a movie deal” Kurt hissed with venom in his voice.  
Blaine’s eyes must have slightly widen at the shock of Kurt knowing about the movie because let out a scoff. Blaine never actually told Kurt about it.  
“That’s right, I know about it. I waited for you to bring it up and you never did.”  
“And what you were waiting for a rainy day to bring up that two years ago I was asked to be in a movie?!” Blaine exclaimed. “You’re that spiteful and hurt you just had to hold onto something I didn’t tell you about to use it against me?”  
“You think that low of me?” Kurt spat, hurt and shock in his eyes.  
Blaine sighed stepping back and breathing. They were both trying to hurt each other.  
“No,” he whispered. “It just happened so long ago.”  
“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” Kurt asked slowly, probably afraid of the answer.  
“I didn’t mean to keep it from you, I just … I knew you would tell me to go and I couldn’t ask that you step back from your career. Things were going so well and we would have been so far away from each other. It was Sophie’s last year in high school and you were featured in that revival.” Blaine took a breath trying to collect his thoughts, “It’s the same reasons you’ve never gone on tour.”  
Kurt nods, thoughtful and concentrated.  
“This really isn’t about my movie deal from two years ago,” Blaine finally says after a minute of letting each of them breath and hopefully calm down.  
“No,” Kurt deflates a little when he says it and Blaine wants everything to hold onto him until he feels better, but Kurt likes his space when he gets like this. “They ran some of my show with a test audience or something, other people to put money in it and see what needs fixing for it to be a hit. It didn’t work, something about too much work and not enough money. They’re letting it go.”  
“Kurt,” Blaine began to comfort him but cut off when Kurt shook his head and continued.  
“And maybe it really isn’t about that, I’m used to rejection. Or maybe it’s too much rejection between that and Riley still not adjusting to me.” Kurt swallows and breaths like he does when he doesn’t want to cry. “I thought things were finally beginning for me career wise or at least they were supposed to now that Sophie is in college and Oliver is halfway through high school.”  
“Are you …” Blaine was too afraid to ask. Maybe asking Kurt to let go of doing what he loved to adopt Riley was too much to ask for. They would do anything for what the other wanted, and maybe he finally asked too much for Kurt.  
But Kurt quickly shook his head, “I wanted this too. We didn’t plan on more than too kids … or I didn’t plan on more than two kids, but plans change. She needs us and we will probably find out we need her just as much.”  
Relief washes over Blaine and he relaxes his shoulders.  
“But maybe we could take turns with our roles. Sometimes you handle the legal matters and keeping the press out of our business and sometimes I’m the one who gets to sit with her and help her get better” Kurt explains with hope in his eyes.  
Blaine finally gets it. Kurt’s a father too. He may be a working dad, but he is still a dad and he wants to have moments where he is only a dad.  
“She does need to get used to me without you being around. It may be stressful for her, but I don’t want her to only go to you with everything” he added nervously when Blaine didn’t say anything.  
Blaine feels horrible for not noticing it first. He and Kurt are a team and he’s been neglecting Kurt’s needs and feelings. He looked down shamefully nodding in agreement because that is what they’ve been needing to do all along.  
“I’m sorry I should have-” Blaine started to apologized before Kurt cut him off with a kiss.  
“I know you are and I’m sorry for not telling you what was going on, “Kurt apologized guiding Blaine to settle into bed with me.  
“You know what I just realized,” Blaine smiled.  
“Hopefully that the house is kid free so we can reenact our youthful makeup sex as loud as we want to,” Kurt hummed in response pulling Blaine closer towards him.  
“Looks like we are back on the same brain wave,” Blaine smirked before latching on to Kurt's lips with his.


	8. Chapter 8

Bringing her home so close to Christmas might have been a mistake, Blaine begins to wonder as he watches Riley whimper and cry from her hiding spot behind the sofa, clutching her bleeding hand closely to her chest. He wants to wait her out and let her come to him, but there is a lot of blood so he isn’t positive how deep the cut is and if she needs stitches.  
It’s been a little over a month since he and Kurt worked out a balanced routine with Riley. After Kurt explained his stress and why he was upset, Blaine had stepped back from being her sole care provider and let Kurt take over, while he worked on the legal matters and keeping the media away from the changes in their family. It no wonder Kurt was so upset and stressed, arguing with people on the phone and getting passed around having to re-explain his situation from beginning multiple times got annoying quick. Plus, all the rumors going around about why they are both absent from the theater and music world are a little disturbing and offensive. It took a couple weeks but they soon settled into a routine. Kurt went with Riley to her physical and occupational therapy appointments and Blaine was there after the psychiatrist is through with his hour and the nurses went through their routines with her.  
It was a week before Christmas when they were allowed to bring her home as temporary foster parents. Eating on her own really helped push everyone to allow her to leave the hospital. Blaine and Kurt immediately canceled their plans of having their family staying with them for the holidays, much to his mother’s disappointment. To make it up to her they sent her and Carole on a cruise for the holidays.  
It’s been four days now and it is not going near as well as Blaine had hoped it would. He didn’t expect miracles to happen, or something similar to a Christmas family movie, but he wasn’t expecting her to revert back to being petrified at any presence or movement, or for her to sleep on the floor rather than in her bed.  
And now after cutting herself on a broken Christmas ornament she sat shoved tightly between the back of the sofa and the wall, crying over her bleeding hand.  
“Riley, angel I’m sorry to do this, but I need to fix you hand” Blaine apologized before signaling Kurt to pull away the sofa, Blaine ready to catch in case she ran. Basically, they were cornering her.  
He held her in his lap with one arm around her middle and the other holding her hand out for Kurt to clean up and look at.  
“breathe,” he shushed her as she howled painfully and cried loudly, “breathe, breathe”  
She calmed down only enough for Kurt to properly clean out her cut, his body physically relaxing when he found it to be a small cut they could easily fix at home. Blaine couldn’t even imagine what would have happened if she needed stiches.  
Kurt began to hum, probably in hopes to calm everyone down, as he moved to clean the drying blood on the rest of her hand and wrist.  
“Oliver hasn’t mentioned this yet, but we adopted him as well,” Kurt said offhandedly.  
Blaine frowned in confusion, wondering why Kurt was bringing up Oliver’s adoption.  
She squirmed at little at his voice, but her cries seemed to start to settle to small hiccups.  
“And sometimes it makes him afraid and feel like no one wants him, but that isn’t true.” Kurt continued to explain. “We will always want him and love him. He is our son; he always was and always will be.” He finished fixing up her hand before looking her in the eyes. “We want you to be a part of this family, and it’s scary. But no matter what you do we; Blaine, me, Oliver, and Sophie; we will always love you. Even if you find we aren’t what you want or need, no matter where you are, we will always be your family and that means we will do anything to keep you safe.”  
By the end Blaine thought he was going to cry. It’s one of Kurt’ strengths he knows when to say something and when to keep quiet, and Blaine can read Kurt the same way after all these years but he still hasn’t mastered it like Kurt. Maybe, it was in Kurt’s genetics.  
Her tears were drying up and she was calming down, going limp and heavy in Blaine’s arms.  
“How about we go take a nap? Try your bed out?” Kurt suggested packing away the disinfectant and band aids.  
Blaine knew she was tired now, but he also knew how much she hated to sleep. He could only guess because of nightmares she would get, but he never knew for sure.  
“I want to make a surprise before our nap, so the two of you either read or watch a movie while I get it ready?” Blaine announced handing Riley to Kurt.  
He quickly grabbed the extra blankets and pillows in the hall closet, getting to work in her room. It shouldn’t take him too long, he use to do it all the time for Sophie and Oliver when they were younger. Sophie especially loved it, using it as an escape to cuddle and read her books. Oliver used it for much more adventures things, letting his imagine run in a more active way than Sophie did.  
“Dad?” Oliver intrigued, knocking softly on the door.  
“What’s up, Ollie?” Blaine asked stopping and giving Oliver his full attention.  
“What are you doing?” he questioned, eyebrow raised, crossing his arms. Oliver may have been adopting but to Blaine he looked exactly like Kurt in these moments.  
“Building a napping fort,” Blaine answered matter-of-factly, moving to continue his construction.  
“Oh, I want to help!” He answered enthusiastically, surprising Blaine. Oliver and Sophie were at the age that they where they did everything with their friends and when they weren’t with their friends, they were locked up in their rooms doing who knows what. Blaine understood, he went through the same thing. In a few years Oliver, will be the age Blaine was when he met Kurt and once he met Kurt he never spent time at home or with his parents, unless he had to.  
“Okay … uh do you want to put up the lights?” Blaine suggested trying and failing to keep the excitement out of his voice.  
As they worked on the overdone fort they quietly sung Christmas carols, which of course Blaine started causing Oliver to rolls his eyes and hit him with a pillow, making Blaine only sing louder.  
His singing was only interrupted by Kurt clearing his throat in the doorway, Riley in his arms, her head resting on her shoulder. She was obviously exhausted from her emotional outburst.  
“I hope our surprise is finished, because if we wait any longer for nap time I won’t have time to prepare dinner.” Kurt said, adjusting Riley in his arms so she could see the fort made for her.  
She blinked tiredly at it, and if Blaine’s eyesight was better he would see a slight smile spread on her lips.  
Kurt placed her gently on her bed, and tried to lay down next to her to help her sleep in her bed, but instead she slid on carefully and crawled under the sheet walls to curl up in her usual corner.  
Blaine frowned, thinning his lips in thought. “Ollie, why don’t you help your Papa with finishing decorating the tree.”  
Oliver nodded, following Kurt’s lead out of the room.  
Blaine carefully took down the fort, trying not to let it get to him. Riley watched him carefully once the wall that was blocking them was removed, her expression more curious than guarded.  
Once the sheets and lights were down, Blaine took one of the extra pillows and blankets he used to build the fort and laid himself down on the floor next to her bed, attempting to settle in for a nap. He concentrated on his breathing to keep his mind off Riley not adjusting well. Just as his breathing even out he felt her cuddle up next to him, sticking herself in-between him and the bed. Under the bed was another one of her hiding places. Blaine tried to keep his breaths even and fought to pulled her close to him, he needed to allow her to initiate contact in these situations. She was getting better with others, but it was clear bedtime scared her the most. Blaine didn’t like to think too hard on the reasons, instead he put his focus on how to help her cope like giving her a nightlight and not closing the door.  
Blaine figured he must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing he realized was someone was softly stroking his hair, Kurt.  
Kurt shushed him softly.  
He blinked awake to find Kurt laying on the other side on him, smiling softly. He looked over to his left to find Riley now using most of his side to sleep on, her fingers clutching his shirt tightly.  
“I think it’s the best she’s ever slept,” Kurt whispered, careful not to wake her.  
Blaine’s vision blurred slight and he felt Kurt’s lips on his cheek as a tear escaped.  
“I know you doubt it, but you are doing a wonderful job at helping her,” He reassured. “It just takes time.”  
Blaine nodded, afraid speaking would wake her.  
Kurt inched closer to him, resting his head on Blaine’s chest and reaching over and keeping the tips of his fingers just out of reach of Riley’s writes. After a moment, he began to absent mindedly stroke his thumb softly. Blaine only guessed he was pretending he was reassuring Riley.  
Kurt blushed and ducked his head, realizing Blaine had been watching him. He pulled his hand back sitting up awkwardly.  
“You’re going to regret sleeping on the floor when you back starts killing you,” he teased lightly.  
Blaine could only hold back a small laugh and shrug his free shoulder, because honestly if it means Riley got her first good sleep he didn’t mind how bad his back was going to kill him once he got up.


	9. Chapter 9

The next two days things begin to kind of relax, at least as much as they can. They decided to try to introduce her to Santa through movies since trying to explain him with words usually doesn’t come out the way it should, but in end she still isn’t too thrilled with the idea. Blaine hopes Christmas morning she will change her mind when she finds all the presents Santa brought her. Between her never experiencing Christmas and them having a young child to experience Christmas with, again, they both went a little overboard.   
Their current plan to try to get her into the holiday spirit is by baking cookies, a holiday activity that even a grown Sophie and teenage Oliver cannot resist participating in. It always of course turns into a musical fest with him and Kurt, but the musicality stops there. After a disaster of both of them being recruited to work on a small elementary school production Sophie refused to partake in anything related to the theater. She took almost every other activity in high school except ones that involved a stage. Oliver, on the other hand, was always too shy to be heard singing. He hasn’t found his spot in school yet, but he does whatever he can to stay away from the spot light. According to him, he likes being invisible.   
They’re in the middle of decorating the sugar cookies and shaping the thumb print cookies when there is a distinctive knock at the door. Both Blaine and Kurt’s eyes go comically wide.   
“I thought you told him not to come!” Kurt hissed.   
“I did tell him, but you know he” Blaine starts before being cut off by Kurt.  
“I know, I know. He twists it to make it what he wants.” Kurt complains, and it takes Blaine clearing his throat not to laugh. Cooper lost his appeal to Kurt the first time he stayed with them for a visit. He took the role of guest a little too far when he took all the hot water, Kurt’s breakfast, and left a mess everywhere he had been. He really started to dislike Cooper when he lost Sophie at a museum the weekend he was babysitting her causing them to have to leave an event early to pick her up in a different state.   
“Maybe I can just get him to leave?” Blaine suggests, getting up to answer the door.  
“Uncle Cooper isn’t that awful you guys,” Sophie cuts in, trying not to laugh. She was right Cooper wasn’t all bad. He had very good intentions, most of the time.   
Blaine answers the door that is now being incessantly knocked on, which makes him wonder how he is the younger sibling. He also doesn’t even get a word out before he is engulfed into a hug.   
“Cooper, what are you doing here?” Blaine greeted nervously once he can breathe again.   
“I know, I’m a day early but I couldn’t wait to meet my new niece” Cooper enthused, setting his multiple bags upright after throwing them to greet Blaine.   
“She’s not- “Blaine started but cleared his thoughts of trying to stay focused. “I thought you agreed that because of the situation we would have an intimate family Christmas.”   
“I do,” Cooper started already getting himself comfortable, “that’s why I didn’t bring mom.”  
Blaine opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure where to begin. “Cooper you should know- “  
“That with Burt gone and a new kid in the house you need me to step up and play Santa?” Cooper interrupted, whispering this time. “Cause I’m way ahead of you, rented a professional suit and everything.”   
“No, Cooper, no Santa!” Blaine tried to explain.   
“Kursty! You baking me your mom’s amazing cookies?” Cooper asked loudly over Blaine showing himself into the kitchen.   
Entering the kitchen Kurt was already standing in front of the table, blocking the view of Riley with his arms crossed and an icy glare on his face. Blaine almost laughed at Cooper trying to hug him. Sophie and Oliver greeted him with slightly more enthusiasm, but both were still a little timid. Blaine wasn’t sure if that’s because of the current situation or if it was because they did not know Cooper that well, since he was never really around.   
Blaine watched as Cooper’s eyes scanned over to Riley, them slightly widening at her and for once Cooper was at a loss of words. Riley certainly didn’t look as awful as the first days of just meeting, but she still had patches of hair missing from the tangled stringy mess on her head; she still had numerous scars, the major ones being the burns on her right hand and right side of her face; and despite the best efforts in eating she was still drastically underweight.   
Kurt cleared his throat loudly as Cooper stood frozen.   
“Riley, this is my brother Cooper,” Blaine introduced, deciding to take over the situation.   
She was obviously uncomfortable with his staring as she began to fidget in her seat, moving to carefully slide under the table and hide herself further behind Kurt’s legs.   
“Cooper, maybe I can help you get to your hotel?” Blaine offered.   
“Hotel?” Cooper asked turning his full attention back to Blaine. “Why would I get a hotel when you and Kurt are the perfect hosts, with the best guest suite in the area?”   
Just as Blaine was sure Kurt may snap Sophie stepped up defusing the situation.   
“I’ll room with Oliver until after Uncle Cooper leaves, Ollie won’t mind.”  
“I won’t?” he tried to ask but was elbowed by Sophie.   
“Let’s get your stuff,” Oliver huffed, slightly dragging his feet.   
“How about instead you two come with me and Cooper to get Hot Chocolate and go ice skating, and Kurt and Riley will stay home to finish baking?” Blaine suggested thinking of the best way to get Cooper out of the house and help Riley cope with all the commotion.   
The skating rink is not as secluded or hidden as their other spots to spend as a family, but it holds history for Kurt and Blaine. Plus, it close to a diner that Kurt believes has the best hot chocolate he has ever tasted. The skating is overly crowded due to the holiday season and everyone being off of school; it’s packed with both locals and tourists that being to look and whisper at the sighting of Blaine and Cooper. Before starting a family, Blaine had made a good name for himself in the music industry, with a few appearances in some Broadway musicals. Now he is more known for being married to Kurt, who has been more and more prominent in stage productions, even winning an award for a supporting role a couple years back. There are of course whispers about Cooper too, who has made numerous appearances in popular television shows and been in a few TV movies. Neither Kurt or Blaine consider themselves celebrities, especially it takes people much too long to place where they know their faces from. Blaine instinctively moves Sophie and Oliver on the inside of him and Cooper as some people approach Cooper asking for pictures and autographs. Cooper, of course, stops and happily obliges to their requests, but Blaine keeps moving hoping he will be able stay unrecognized.  
He pays for the skates and bracelets and after exchanging their shoes for skates he finds the three of them a nice secluded place to put them on. Cooper catches up quickly with a wide grin. He sits down next to Blaine as Sophie and Oliver head towards the rink.   
“I was going to pay, squirt.” Cooper pouts slightly.   
Blaine only shrugs and waves him off in response, he doesn’t doubt Cooper would have paid but it also doesn’t matter much to him.   
“Before any more fans come up to you I need ask you to keep Riley out of it. We haven’t announced trying to adopt her or fostering her. The only thing they have are untrue rumors of one of us being ill or Kurt filing for divorce.” Blaine firmly instructs, because despite all Coopers good intentions he does have a big mouth.   
“yeah, I’ve read them.” Cooper sighs looking down and his expression makes Blaine understand why Cooper needed to visit.   
“You were worried,” it’s not a question.   
“I knew you weren’t sick, you would have told me or at least mom and …” he trails off for a second scrunching his eyebrows in thought. “Well you and Kurt and both so passionate that sometimes it causes trouble for you two. He’s hurt you before and I didn’t want you to get your heart broken again.”  
“Kurt and I are more than fine,” Blaine reassures. “We’ve both made mistakes and learned how to not make them again. I know some of the press paints me to be jealous Kurt is always in the lime light or that Kurt doesn’t care about his family at home from being so busy about his new shows, but none of it is true. I happen to love being known as Kurt’s husband and father to his kids over being known as the one hit wonder musician. I also love being a stay at home dad, just like you love being Mr. Hollywood. I was planning on restarting my career, and putting out a new album with Oliver starting high school and Sophie away at College, but things happened and the plans changed. It’s not even a bad change.”   
“That is good to hear, especially since the gift I brought Kurt should is guaranteed to make him love me again,” Cooper announced bumping his shoulders against Blaine’s.   
“This isn’t like the year you gave him an autographed calendar with pictures from when you modeled underwear? Because I don’t think Kurt will be able to fake gratitude again.” Blaine askes in amusement.   
“Excuse you, that was a fabulous gift and will be worth a lot of money after I pass on devastatingly from the heartbreak of losing you and Kurt in cruise ship accident coincidently similar to the Titanic” Cooper rambles off as he finishes the laces on his skates.  
“Kurt and I die before you?” Blaine stutters in horror.   
“Don’t worry you nobly save lots of people,” Cooper reassures handing Blaine his phone and posing for him to take a picture.   
Blaine sighs, rolling his eyes, but still takes the picture.   
They skate until their legs begin to hurt. Blaine jumps off the ice first, going over the diner and getting Hot Chocolate for everyone, Kurt included. He also gives Kurt a call and asking if he should bring dinner home or if Kurt has something prepared. Unfortunately, Kurt didn’t have time to cook the dinner he planned because he spent all day trying to get Riley to calm down enough to try to eat something. Cooper immediately insists on paying for dinner.   
It’s quiet at home. Blaine isn’t sure if it’s a good or a bad sign but chooses to not think negatively. Before Blaine can even make it past the entryway Kurt is there greeting them, giving Blaine an appreciative kiss for his hot chocolate and thanking Cooper for paying for dinner.   
“That’s it?” Cooper beings to joke. “Thank you? Blaine brings you cold hot chocolate and gets a kiss, I bring hot dinner and get ‘Thank You’.”  
“I’m sorry Cooper, how would you like me to show my appreciation?” Kurt smiles tightly.   
“Your mom’s infamous ginger cookies?” Cooper smiles charmingly.   
“I have a tin for you to open on Christmas, but they have to last the whole year” Kurt answers.   
“Yeah okay,” Cooper scoffs heading into the dining room to help Sophie and Oliver set the table.   
Once they’re alone Kurt gives Blaine another kiss, pulling him close this time.   
“Miss me?” Blaine giggles.   
“I always miss you when we’re apart,” Kurt gushes.   
“Miss me enough to rub out my sore legs and feet tonight?” Blaine pleads slightly. “They feel like jelly.”   
“Your brother is here, and the kids are home,” Kurt whispers, laughing lightly.   
“The kids are always home,” Blaine pouts. “And I never said it had to lead to anything.”   
“We’ve tried not leading to things and that just isn’t possible with us, besides Riley has a fever and we need to keep an eye on her tonight.” Kurt informs.  
“Was it high?” Blaine frowns, worried now.  
“Not really, but I couldn’t get her to eat anything either. At first I thought it was the stress but then she felt a little warm.” Kurt explained.   
“What did the doctor say?” Blaine asked already looking to go check on her.  
“That it’s probably nothing serious, just whatever is going around, but to keep an eye on her and contact him immediately if it worsens or if she starts to have trouble breathing.” Kurt answered following Blaine to her room.   
As usual her door was open and the bright nightlight was, on as well as the hall light, and the sound machine was playing just loud enough to drown out the outside noise. What was unusual was that Riley was sleeping somewhat soundly in her bed.   
Blaine went over to her bedside feeling her forehead lightly, frowning at the warm touch.   
“I gave her some children’s aspirin to try to bring it down and then put her to bed. She was asleep before I even got her tucked in,” Kurt says quietly.   
“How long as she been asleep?” Blaine asked in a whisper.   
“a little over an hour,” Kurt answered after checking the time. “I figured we would let her sleep a little longer before waking her up.”   
Blaine nodded in agreement, adjusting the covers and her rabbit before following Kurt out of the room. They joined the dinner table quietly, forcing reassuring smiles on their faces.   
“What’s wrong?” Sophie asked instantly, sensing something was off.   
“Riley has a slight fever,” Blaine answered honestly knowing there was no sense of trying to hide anything from Sophie. When she was younger she went through a Nancy Drew phase and from then on nothing was a secret in their home.   
“When Blainers was sick as a kid we watched classic movies while eating mom’s homemade soup” Cooper said in what he called his narrator voice, trying to lighten the mood.   
“We watches 80’s movies and the soup was from a can,” Blaine corrected causing Oliver and Sophie to snicker.   
“Again, classic, and mom had to open and heat the soup up,” Cooper answered silently adding the “duhhh” with his facial expression. “Anyway that was at least until he met Kurt, and then the only thing he would eat was Kurt’s magical curing soup.”  
“For your information Cooper, my ginger chicken noodle soup has cured everyone at this table, including you” Kurt lectured.   
The conversation quickly expanded into tales of when each of them were sick, Kurt quickly supplying the story of the first time Sophie was sick and Blaine panicked taking her to the hospital after leaving Kurt a dramatic voice message only to find out it was a low-grade fever that could be cured at home.   
After dinner, they settled in the living room to watch Cooper’s favorite Christmas movies. Blaine quickly excused himself to take the time to check on Riley. He grabbed the thermometer from the bathroom medicine cabinet before making his way to her room. When he entered her room, he found she was in the same spot as last time, except with her feet sticking out from the covers. He carefully sat down next to her, brushing her hair away from her face. He frowned at the way it clung due to her sweat; he could already tell her fever was a lot higher than it had been before.   
“Hey, angel, I just need to take you temperature,” he whispered trying to carefully wake her up without fully startling her.   
Her eyes barely opened, but she turned and looked at him in acknowledgement.   
“You’re probably not going to like this, but I need to put the thermometer in your ear.” Blaine informed. “It won’t hurt, but stay as still as possible so I can get an accurate reading.”   
The thermometer beeped, reading 106°F. Blaine put the thermometer aside and rushed doorway calling for Kurt. He went back to her bed side and sat up, cringing a little at how soaked her clothes were. A second later Kurt came rushing in turning on the light.   
“Her fever is high, call the doctor and let him know we are on our way,” Blaine commanded.   
“Blaine, her lips are blue” Kurt added, his voice wavering a little.   
“I’m going to get her in dry clothes. Just call for me,” Blaine instructed again trying to take a hold of the situation.   
He pulled out another set of pajamas and quickly started pinching at her current wet clothes. “Riley, I’m going to get you into dry clothes and then we’re going to get you help. Okay?”  
He knew she wouldn’t respond and assumed she may not even be aware of what was happening, but he was mostly talking himself through the action anyway.   
She let out a weak cough and moaned a little at the movement. Kurt disappeared out of the room during his phone call, returning with a wet wash cloth to pat her down quickly.   
“They are going to be ready and waiting for us,” Kurt informed helping Blaine clean her off and get her dressed.   
She coughed again this time trying desperately to catch her breath after. Blaine didn’t waste any more time getting changed and scooping her up in his arms, moving as fast as he could without bouncing her around too much.   
“Cooper, we’re taking Riley to the hospital stay here and watch the place.” Blaine called out at the same time as Kurt telling Sophie she was in charge and they would explain when they could.


	10. Chapter 10

It was a severe case of pneumonia the doctor explained after running their tests. She was on IV antibiotics, again, and had to go through respiratory therapy. Her hospital stay was only a little easier this time through because one of them was allowed to stay with her past visiting hours.   
Blaine quickly offered to be the one to spend her night with her, and based on the look Kurt gave him he knew Kurt understood the guilt he was feeling.   
“She shouldn’t be here too long, but anything can happen” The doctor explained handing them a form to fill out.   
“and what exactly does that mean?” Kurt asked, already annoyed at how vague he was being.  
“Well it’s hard to say she could go home tomorrow or have to stay all week, just depends on how fast she recovers” he answered without glancing up. “You got her here quickly but there was a lot of mucus in her lungs.”   
“Well, we have two other children what if they start showing signs of being sick?” Kurt asked crossing his arms.   
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they do show signs for a flu of some kind,” The doctor responded reaching over the counter and grabbing a few pamphlets to give to them. “You’ll want to keep her isolated if they do become sick when she’s home. And before she gets home wash everything in her room, bedding, stuffed toys, clothes. You’ll also need to disinfect the bathroom. Now please excuse me I have other patients to attend to.” He walked away ignoring Kurt’s frown.   
Once he was out of sight Kurt let out a groan. “I can’t believe Doctor Taylor isn’t reachable for three days.”   
“I’m sure he has a family he wants to see too,” Blaine tried to reason finishing up the form and handing it over to the nurse behind the counter.   
“Can we get another pediatrician assigned to her?” Kurt asked the nurse behind the counter.   
“Doctor Hannigan is one of the best we have here, sir” She answered softly, shrinking under Kurt’s glare.   
“His bedside manner is-” Kurt started before Blaine cut him off, taking a different approach.   
“What my husband is trying say is we have a special circumstance that asks for someone with a little more of a softer approach to treating her. If you looked in her file you will see she is dealing with past abuse.” Blaine tried to explain, his voice straining at the end.   
She nodded, typing something into the computer, humming a little as she worked.   
“I see …” she said slowly, biting her lip. “I will see what I can do for you, and try to get in contact with Doctor Taylor to see who he recommends until he returns.”   
“Thank you we appreciate that,” Blaine smiled warmly before guiding Kurt away from the desk.   
“Just because you’re scared doesn’t mean you can take it out on the rest of the staff, we need them to like us” Blaine chided.   
“I’m not scared,” Kurt snapped back quickly, pulling his arm away from Blaine’s gentle hold, “and don’t scold me like a child.”   
“I wouldn’t have to if you didn’t act like one,” Blaine responded before he could stop himself.   
He couldn’t read the look Kurt was giving him, something between furious, disgusted, and shocked.   
Blaine rubbed his hands over his faced, exhausted and stressed.   
“It’s going to be okay,” Kurt comforted taking hold of Blaine’s hands, now worried about how upset Blaine was getting. “I’m sorry for getting mad, hospitals stress me out.”   
“It’s because you feel out a loss of control, and have to put trust in other people’s hands,” Blaine mumbled, venom gone from his voice and the fight leaving his body.   
Kurt let out a breath, probably deciding to ignore the comment, even if Blaine didn’t mean it as a negative thing.   
“You go see Riley, I’m going to call home and get Sophie to bring us an overnight bag,” Kurt suggested.   
Blaine nodded heading into Riley’s room, his heart sinking at the sight of her in the hospital bed. It’s something he probably should be used to by now, but she still looks small and sick in the bed. Her fever was down and a little bit of color was returned to her face, but the IV’s were taped to her little hand making her look like she never even left the hospital.   
“Sophie’s on her way, she’s bringing stuff for us and some extra’s for Riley,” Kurt said as he entered the room taking his place next to Blaine. “And according to her Cooper thinks he might be feeling a little flu-ish now.”  
“Cooper is an over dramatic hypochondriac; he is not sick” Blaine laughed shaking his head.   
“And you don’t suddenly come down with something once I or the kids have it?” Kurt teased lightly. “Sorry to break the news to you Blaine but you get just as man sick as Cooper does.”   
“I’m mellow compared to Cooper, you just don’t think so because you think you’re superior to being sick and refuse to rest or get treatment,” Blaine teased back.   
Riley let out a weak cough, she turned and looked miserably at him. Kurt instantly cooed at her feeling bad for how miserable she felt.   
“No one likes being sick,” Blaine explains to her, “but the doctors here are going to get you better so you can go to back …” He trailed off not knowing if he should reference their home as her home. Maybe she didn’t feel at home with them.   
“Sophie is going to bring you your pillow and blanket to help you feel more comfortable and rest more,” Kurt says jumping in as Blaine trails off. “And this time Blaine and I get to stay the whole time with you. We won’t leave your side unless you want us to go.”   
She smiles weakly, her eyes blinking tiredly. She hasn’t been awake long, barely a minute, but Blaine knows that medicine can tend to make her tired so he isn’t surprised. It was probably her cough that woke her up in the first place.   
Blaine hums quietly to her, telling her to go back to sleep and reminding her they will be here when she wakes up.   
He waits till he knows she is fully asleep before bringing up the issue with Kurt.   
“What if she doesn’t want to come home with us? What if she doesn’t like it there?” Blaine asks quietly afraid of the answer.   
“I don’t think that’s the problem,” Kurt answers honestly. “She wants to be there, she wants us, but she’s afraid to want something. She doesn’t know what a home is or parents are.”   
Blaine looks at Kurt surprised.   
“Don’t be too impressed, I’ve been looking for support groups for us and found some online articles and stories,” Kurt confesses.   
They settle more into their seats, attempting to get comfortable. Kurt gravitates towards Blaine seeking his warmth and Blaine cannot be more grateful because despite him knowing Kurt likes his space, he needs that reassuring physical comfort of Kurt being there.   
“Remember when we were here all the time for Oliver?” Blaine thinks out loud.   
Kurt hums in response.   
“You think our experience and familiarity would make it easier,” Blaine continues.   
“We knew Oliver would be okay, it wasn’t life threatening, just painful and annoying,” Kurt answers, pausing before adding “Not including when he was born too early,” as an afterthought.  
“He was so little,” Blaine remembers. “When he was sick again all I thought about was that tiny premature infant who couldn’t remember to breathe on his own.”   
“Each of them are so dramatic in their own way,” Kurt laughs lightly.   
“How else would we know they were ours,” Blaine chuckles but quickly frowns as Riley let’s out another cough, this one sounding worse than the last. She whines a little at the end letting them know she is still awake.   
“I’ll go see if they can give her something to help with her cough,” Kurt say looking determined to get whatever she needs.   
“Just please don’t” Blaine begins but the warning look Kurt sends him forces his words to cut off.   
Riley coughs again and gives him a pleading look.   
“Oh, angel,” Blaine coos in an attempt to soothe her. He carefully climbs into the bed with her, allowing her to cuddle close to him and make herself more comfortable. Her fever has gone down from its extremely high temperature, but she does still feel clammy. He starts to hum to her softly and gently rock her. Between Oliver being a colicky baby and being sick all the time, and Sophie having digestion issues since she was born, he and Kurt are both used to sick, whiny, children. It doesn’t make it any easier to them sick and in pain, though.   
A minute later Kurt walks in with Sophie and a nurse, who rushes to Riley’s side.   
The nurse is a younger woman, with long auburn hair. The age she looks makes Blaine feel old. She looks like she is two days out of high school. He knows she isn’t, but she looks it.   
“We’re going to get her ready for some breathing treatments, a mask is going to have to put over her nose and mouth,” she informs without any kind of an introduction.   
Riley begins to whine and squirm in Blaine’s arms at her presence. Blaine can feel her heart begin to race. She eventually gets so out of control that Blaine has to move to her side, trying to block the view of the nurse, who seems clueless about how to handle to situation.   
“You need to leave,” Kurt instructs doing his best to keep his own emotion and frustration out of his voice.   
As Riley’s crying becomes more uncontrollable so does her cough and before Blaine can react Kurt is shoving a bin in front of her as she starts to vomit.   
Blaine begins to rub circles on her back as Kurt holds her hair away from her face. Blaine knows he should be doing more to get her to relax and calm down, but it sounds so painful. He and Kurt are both used to vomit after Sophie who always had an extremely weak stomach and threw up even if she was excited or at the sight of something she found gross.   
It doesn’t take her long to stop and fall back into her pillows, with Blaine’s guidance. She hadn’t eaten all day so it isn’t a lot, but it still takes any energy she had left.   
Kurt immediately takes away the bin handing it over to the nurse, giving her an icy look.   
“I’m sorry you had to see that Soph” Kurt apologized  
“I’m studying to be a nurse so it’s nothing I won’t have to be used to,” she waved off before continuing. “Anyway, I brought the stuff you asked for.”   
“Thank you, Sophie,” Kurt said pulling her in for hug and kissing the top of her head, causing Sophie to roll her eyes but smiles fondly and hugs him back.   
“It’s okay,” Blaine comforts as he wipes her face with a tissue to try to clean her off.  
Riley whimpers slightly as Blaine finishes and tries to get her to rise her mouth out, tears forming in her eyes.   
“You’re alright,” he soothes again this time dabbing away a loose tear with another tissue.   
A young male knocked hesitantly on the door, alerting them of his presence. “Mr. Hummel, Mr. Anderson, I am so sorry for the care you have been given. My fellow intern just informed me what happened and I-“  
“Hummel-Anderson,” Kurt corrected cutting off his nervous rambling.   
“Oh – I – um” he began to stutter his cheeks reddening.   
“It happens all the time,” Blaine quickly reassured giving Kurt a warning look, they both are aware how many interns Kurt has scared off within their time spent in the hospital. “Maybe you can get us someone to help Riley?” He asked politely.   
“Oh yes, that’s why I came in,” he answered jumping into action. “I’m Declan, I worked with Riley once before when she first got here.”   
He’s young like the woman in the room before him, with much more a baby face than she had. He had his white sleeves push up past his elbow, making Blain assume he had a long sleeve thermal shirt under his baby blue scrubs to keep him warm. His blond hair was styled in a way that reminded him of Jesse Spencer with longer hair.   
He worked quickly around Blaine, checking her over before even preparing the mask for the breathing treatment.   
“It’s a real honor to be in the room with both of you.” He said quietly, too embarrassed to look at him or Kurt. “Your stories helped me-“  
“That will be enough Intern,” an older nurse interrupted taking the file he was filling out from his hands. “You should not be bothering them with your idolization no matter how flattering and justified it is,” she continued to scold before turning her attention to Kurt and Blaine. “I apologize for the behavior of my staff.”   
“No, need. It really is flattering to here and he seemed to calm Riley down enough for him give her the treatment she needs,” Kurt answered attempting to give the young intern a reassuring smile.   
Riley had whined at little at the mask, but allowed him to place it over her mouth and nose. Even with how tired her eyes look Blaine noticed she looked at him with the same fascination she looked at Oliver with. He allowed himself to look for similarities between them, finding the only two things in common were their baby faces and a couple of light freckles that dusted their face. Blaine can only assume there was a boy with similar features that took care of her and helped her, he forced him not to think further of what happened to him for helping her.   
“Is it possible to request,” Blaine started motioning towards him, silently asking him for his name again.   
“Declan,” he answered once he caught on.   
“Declan, thank you” he continued “to partially oversee Riley while she is here?”   
The older nurse sighed, before turning a serious eye to Declan. “I don’t mind as long as you remember to mind yourself while you are working. It is one thing to get star-struck on your own time, but it will not be done during work hours.”   
“Yes of course, I’m sorry for being so unprofessional, it won’t happen again,” he rushed out trying to keep the enthusiasm out of his voice. “And thank you Mr. and uh Mr. Hummel-Anderson for this opportunity.”   
“Kurt and Blaine will be fine,” Blaine reassured looking at Kurt for additional acceptance of the informality, who nodded in approval. “And this is our daughter Sophie, she just started school to be a nurse on the opposite coast to get away from us,” Blaine introduced.   
“Dad” she hissed embarrassed before turning to Declan and sticking her hand out “It’s nice to meet you.”  
“Now that every knows each other, it is past visiting hours so only one of you are allowed to stay in this room,” the older nurse instructs.   
“Blaine you go with Sophie, I’ll stay tonight” Kurt insists handing Blaine his coat.   
“Kurt I-” he begins to argue before he is cut off.   
“Make sure your brother doesn’t sleep in our bed and I expect breakfast from the bistro down the street from us when you come tomorrow,” Kurt continues to instruct leaving Blaine no room to argue.   
So, he smiles, thanks both the head nurse and Declan as he puts on his coat, scarf and gloves, gives Riley a bright smile, and kisses Kurt goodnight, never goodbye, before he leaves with Sophie.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: mentions death of minor characters in the story (Burt, Kurt's Mom, and Finn)

Blaine hated settling into a routine at the hospital. He’s had to do it a couple times now so he believes it shouldn’t be as rough as it still is on everyone. But that’s what they did, while Riley continued her stay at the hospital. Once she received her breathing treatment and spent a couple hours with the IV she was already making a fast recovery and was promised that she would be home before Christmas Eve as long as she continued on the recovery path she was on. Their routine wasn’t anything complicated. Both Kurt and Blaine stayed, with a visit from Sophie and Oliver a couple times, and thy rotated who would stay the night with her. They continued with their usual activities, watching movies, reading books, and coloring. She had become particularly fond of Disney’s Tarzan and was beginning an obsession with “You’ll be in my Heart”, though both Kurt and Blaine would sing any song any number of times if it made her smile the way she did when she heard that song. For reading they started to slowly introduce her to books with American Sign Language in hopes of getting her to communicate, even after spending all this time with them she still tried to be invisible to everyone and wouldn’t even ask for water if she was thirsty.   
Declan also became a major role in her recovery. Anything they needed her to do to get better he made it happen. Kurt joked a couple times about making him her private nurse. Blaine still refused to think about how she was so willing to cooperate with Declan, forcing his mind to think that it was a simple attraction to him and not some positive association with someone who looked like him.   
It was supposed to be her last night in the hospital. It was Blaine’s turn to stay and Kurt had already said his goodnights to the both of them, reminding Blaine he will bring a Christmas gift for Declan from all of them when he meets them tomorrow for her discharge. Blaine had just begun to clean up their coloring pages from the day, Riley already asleep with her pacifier in her mouth and rabbit tucked under her arms, when Declan quietly came into the room to check on her.   
“How is she doing?” he asked sincerely, starting to check on her IV drips and monitors.  
“Just tired, but she was like that before she was sick,” Blaine answered as positively as he could. “Thank you, again for being so patient and understanding with her. Most of the nurses get frustrated with her and some of the resources I’ve seen used in the past to restrain have almost made me give up on caring hospital staff.”   
“It was an honor to work with her, and you” Declan replied smiling moving on to help Blaine tidy up all the crayons and pictures that littered the tray table.   
“If there is ever anything we can do to say thank you, both Kurt and I would love to show our gratitude.” Blaine asked, hoping he wasn’t stepping on any policy boundaries that could get Declan in trouble.   
“Honestly you and your husband have both already done more than enough to help me, and I know I’m not supposed to say but I’m going to anyway. You were both a real inspiration to me and helped me accept who I really was and gave me the courage to be true to who I am. It probably sounds silly, but both of you being open like you were made me feel not so a lone.” He confessed trying to nonchalantly shrug at the end.   
“Something like that is never silly and I love to hear we could help at least one person by being a role model for them.” Blaine answered.   
It was quiet for a while before Declan cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the drawings, smiling at the family picture she drew. “Is this supposed to be your family?”   
“Yeah,” Blaine smiled fondly at the sloppy scribbled drawing of him, Kurt, Sophie, and Oliver in front of their Christmas tree. They only reason he was almost positive it was their family was because of Kurt’s scribbled broach on his blue suite and Sophie’s pink hair. His smile dropped as he looked at the smaller drawing off to the far side, separated from them. From a distance, he assumed she drew herself, but this looked more like a young boy. Her drawings of females were all the same, longer hair that went down instead of up, even Sophie’s hair which was shorter now was drawn in long pink lines. They were also always drawn in skirts or dresses, and less rectangular.   
“It’s a good sign,” Declan said interrupting Blaine’s thoughts.   
Blaine looked at him questioningly.   
“That’s she drawing and that’s she drawing your family. Some kids with bad experiences can’t even express their feelings in any way. Plus, I heard from some of the other nurses her first week here she spent hiding under the table or bed.”   
Blaine smiled and placed the drawing in the folder with the others making a mental note to make room on the bulletin board for them when they got home. As he set his bag down he caught Kurt rushing in out of the corner of his eye. At first, he was worried because Kurt was almost running into the room, but then he caught the bright smile on his face.   
“Kurt?” Blaine asked more curious then worried.   
“Sorry, sorry” Kurt apologized to the older nurse who ran in behind him to lecture him on his running. She rolled her eyes but left the doorway without a word.   
“Blaine, Blaine,” Kurt greeted, out of breath. “There’s a big surprise for you and …” he trailed off looking at Riley who was still sniffling a little in her sleep. “Did she just get to sleep?”   
“The medicine has been making her tired, but I’m sure we can wake her for a surprise?” Blaine answered very unsure if they should actually wake her.   
Kurt, however, takes no hesitation in the idea. “I’m sorry, but can we um” Kurt asked Declan gesturing to her IV’s.   
“Oh yes of course,” he answered jumping in and capping off the end of the IV’s before Kurt gently woke up her up.   
“Riley, Angel,” he whispered stroking her hand softly, “we have a surprise for you, if you feel up to it?”   
She blinked a few times and coughed a little, but allowed Kurt to pick her up and hold her close.   
“Should I get her a wheel chair?” Declan asked ready to go find one close by.   
“No I got her,” Kurt answered adjusting her in his arms as she rubbed her sleepy face on his shoulder before sneaking her thumb into her mouth, “but thank you.”   
Blaine was surprised she even allowed him to pick her up, but maybe she was still half asleep.   
As they walked down the hallway Blaine heard the melody of a familiar Christmas tune being played. He side-eyed Kurt suspiciously before following him around the corner into a larger area of the hallway just past the entrance and before all the rooms.   
There in the hallway, decorating a new Christmas tree and passing around presents was the old McKinley glee club. Blaine let out a small laugh, a bright smile growing on his face.   
“Did you do this?” Blaine asked Kurt making sure his voice didn’t rise above their singing.   
“No, Sam put it together when we canceled our usual party we plan for everyone.” Kurt answered watching them with a fond smile. “Ollie and Sophie helped him with getting the permission from the hospital and setting it up as well.”   
Kurt began to smile and hum quietly to their song, bouncing Riley gently in his arms, her eyes now open and curious but still resting her head onto Kurt’s shoulder.   
For Kurt and Blaine, the party went well. They caught up with old friends, sang a few numbers for the patients and staff attending the party and helped pass out a few of the gifts.   
For Riley, the party was not considered a disaster, but it was great either. She refused to go near or interact with anyone new. Rachel and Tina didn’t help the situation either. They both kept trying to force themselves in and meet her despite Kurt and Blaine’s protests. Neither Rachel nor Tina seemed to understand, they both took it as an offense that Kurt and Blaine didn’t want them to be introduced to Riley, but she was tired and sick and they didn’t want any stress making her worse. Plus, the party had her somewhat intrigued and they didn’t need her holiday bliss being interrupted by preventable outside forces.   
Their plan of protecting her worked at least until Blaine took the stage and Kurt had put her down close to Blaine to sit and watch. Kurt turned his attention to his phone in favor of videoing the two of them, making him miss a determined approaching them with some cookies. Before either Kurt or Blaine could even process what had actually happened between Riley and Rachel, Riley started to have a panic attack, causing them to leave the party before they got to do an official holiday duet.   
It was fine. Neither of them minded. Calming Riley down, took a lot longer than they thought she had energy for. Once the panic attack was over she quickly fell asleep, obviously exhausted from all the excitement. Kurt ended up spending the rest of the night with her so Blaine would be able to visit his fans staying in the hospital with some of his old friends as a special Christmas surprise to them.   
The next day Riley was scheduled to return home with them. She was still tired from the previous night so changing her scenery wasn’t as much as stress as it had been the first time. They didn’t get home until later in the afternoon due to her final exam and waiting for prescriptions. Blaine mostly expected to walk into the mess his brother usually left behind and a lot of noise that came with him rehearsing over the sound of his usual day time television shows. However, the place was cleaner than how they left it and unexpectedly quiet.   
“I’ll go start the wash if you’ll put her to bed?” Kurt asked following Blaine in with a bag of Riley’s things she used in the hospital.   
“Sure, then we’ll see where the kids and my brother are,” Blaine answered carrying Riley back into her room. She was limp in his arms, forcing him to carry her full weight, though it really wasn’t all that much considering she was still drastically underweight for her age.   
He carefully placed her on the bed. He took the chance while she was asleep to rub on vapor rub on her feet before covering them with thick socks. Her feet were severely calloused and blistered. After he finished with the vapor rub he adjusted her to tuck her in under the covers and turning on the humidifier and nightlight. Just as he was leaving the door open a crack and turning the hall light on he could hear Kurt calling for him from the kitchen.   
“Blaine, did you forget to tell me something?” Kurt called in sickly sweet voice that usually didn’t mean anything good.   
Blaine scrunched his face in confusion before making his way towards the kitchen, he stopped in the entry from his surprise, his eyes wide and expression slightly confused.   
“You know, like your mom was going to be spending Christmas with us?” Kurt finished, tight icy smile.   
Kurt and his mom got a long fine, but his mom wasn’t always the best mother-in-law. Blaine is her baby and she only wants what’s best for him, which she lets come across as being passive aggressive towards Kurt. As a working mother, she never understood why Blaine would want to be a stay at home father, and she usually tried to blame Kurt for it. She didn’t dislike Kurt, she loved him as much she would with anyone who would be Blaine’s husband. And Kurt didn’t hate his mother, but their relationship would always be rivals, and both their personalities would be a required taste for the other.   
“Mamma, what are you doing here?” Blaine asked surprise in his voice.   
“Well when I found out it was okay for Cooper to visit for Christmas that it would only be alright for me to be here to meet this very secretive and special new grandchild.”   
“Cooper just showed up uninvited, Kurt and I figured being her first Christmas and not officially being adopted yet we should have a small and quiet Christmas.” Blaine tried to explain gently.   
“I’m sure Kurt thought that would be best, but Christmas is about family,” she replied stirring some sugar into the tea Kurt just made for her and himself.   
Blaine watched Kurt’s hands tighten around his mug at her words.   
“Kurt maybe at this point you should just call Carole to come up as well,” Blaine suggest timidly at Kurt’s icy glare.   
“At this point it’s probably quieter at her place,” Kurt answered, plastering the tight smile back onto his face. “Besides, Riley is still sick and needs her rest she can’t have all this excitement going on.”   
“What a shame she got so sick, I made sure to clean the place properly once I arrived.” Pam tsked, leaving in a silent ‘it wasn’t clean enough before to keep her healthy’.   
“Mom, when did you get here, how did you even plan this?” Blaine started asking without stopping.   
“I got in early this morning. Cooper was here with Sophie and Oliver. I sent them all out to get something to make a proper Christmas meal when I didn’t see anything to make it and tomorrow is Christmas Eve.”   
“Kurt and I were trying to keep it simple with Riley. She still really can’t eat anything and Kurt was going to make a nice ham for us.” Blaine informed trying to get back some control of the original Christmas they planned.   
“It’s tradition that I would cook a nice ham and my mother’s recipe for potato’s au gratin, and Carole usually supplies her baked macaroni and cheese because it was Finns favorite and that would be our Christmas Eve dinner and then we have your traditional Christmas dinner at your home the next evening, but canceled plans this year so I decided to make it our Christmas dinner instead.” Kurt informed daring her to change their plans.   
“Well, it’s settled we’ll have your Christmas Eve Dinner and my traditional Christmas Dinner. I’ll call Carole to jump on the next flight up.” She decided clapping her hands together before she left the room to call Carole and help her book a flight.   
Blaine was almost afraid to look at Kurt after she left. He was surprised to see Kurt looking more exhausted rather than angry or frustrated. Honestly it worried him.   
“Kurt, I’m sorry-” Blaine began but stopped when Kurt shook his head.   
“It’s alright it was never really the same after my dad passed anyway,” Kurt shrugged trying to make the best of it.   
“No, it was-” Blaine started again but was cut off once more by Kurt.   
“Maybe this will be a new tradition and we won’t have to worry about traveling anymore. Everyone will come to us,” Kurt simply started taking a breath. “It’s almost time for Riley to take her cough medicine. I’m going to go see if she’s awake yet” 

After Carole was invited by Pam, she immediately called Kurt to make sure it was okay. It took almost twenty minutes to convince her that it was alright to come visit and even then, she said it was probably better for Riley that they schedule a separate visit when she is more willing and ready to meet the family. Kurt appreciated Carole not wanting to crowd Riley, but Blaine could also tell that he missed his family and his only last connection to them was Carole.   
The only way to describe how Christmas Eve went was similar to a roller coaster. Riley wasn’t coughing as much as she had been, and she no longer had a fever of any kind. Kurt was even able to get her out of bed for a while. But the moment Pam pushed her way in and introduced herself Riley ran and hid under her bed, which caused Kurt to and her to have an ice war of strong passive aggression on how to “deal” with her and her special needs. When they went to try to convince her to come out she just looked at them with a betrayed expression. To Blaine’s mother’s benefit there wasn’t anything she really did wrong when meeting Riley, she was maybe a little too enthusiastic like the rest of Blaine’s family but it was more about how Riley wasn’t ready to be introduced to so many people yet. She was still getting used to being around Sophie. They got her out from under the bed after she fell asleep; they were able to move the bed slightly enough to pull her out and tuck her in.   
That night after everyone had gone to bed and Kurt and Blaine set out the presents Kurt had opted to stay up even later, claiming he would be right behind Blaine he just wanted to look at the tree a little longer. After about forty minutes and still no Kurt Blaine went looking for him thinking he fell asleep. Instead he found Kurt sitting on their sofa flipping through a book.   
“Kurt?” Blaine asked worried.   
“Oh,” Kurt startled at his voice, obliviously lost in his own thoughts.   
Blaine came over and took the seat next to Kurt. “Everything okay?” he asked still concerned.   
“Just reminiscing and lost track of time,” Kurt answered looking back at the scrapbook in his lap.  
“Is that the last Christmas with your dad?” Blaine asked sliding closer to look at the book.   
“Yeah, look how small Ollie was,” Kurt pointed at a picture of Oliver and Sophie sleeping in Burt’s lap and arms.   
“Remember how out of control your dad bought buying Christmas presents? We needed to rent a truck just to take all the stuff back with us,” Blaine laughed. “And Sophie was so worried Santa wouldn’t be able to find her.”   
Blaine looked up when Kurt didn’t respond to see he had tears in his eyes. “Oh Kurt, what’s wrong?”   
“I just miss them a lot this time of year,” Kurt answered his voice wet.   
“Your parents?” Blaine clarified reaching to get Kurt a tissue.   
“And Finn,” Kurt answered opting to wipe away his stray tears with his hands instead before letting out a small wet laugh. “You know it was his favorite holiday.”   
“I remember.”  
“My dad never really went all out for Christmas. After my mom passed it was never really anything special anymore. He forgot it the first one without her, and then he tried really hard the next year but it didn’t feel right. He would never know what to get me and I never knew what to get him, so we’d both just order pizza or Chinese and he’d give me a gift card or money. Then he married Carole and suddenly we remembered what it was like to celebrate Christmas, a big tree, movies, baking, staying in our pajamas all day.”   
“Christmas was always fun at your house, so different from my traditional Christmas,” Blaine added a sad smile on his face.   
“Finn never admitted it, but he loved when you would spend Christmas with us. He always picked out one of your gifts for you and then just sign Santa so you wouldn’t know it was him.”  
“I knew it was him. Burt never wrapped anything and you and Carole always were able to perfectly wrap presents,” Blaine laughed this time Kurt joining him.   
They silently flipped through a couple more pages before Blaine spoke again. “Look the kids will be up in only a few hours why don’t we enjoy some hot chocolate and watch Holiday Inn and White Christmas?”   
Kurt’s only response was a quick peck on the lips before getting up to start the hot chocolate and pot of coffee.   
They fell asleep halfway through the second movie. Blaine only woke back up when he heard Oliver and Sophie bickering about being quiet so they didn’t wake them.   
“Too late,” Kurt mumbled next to him shifting as he also woke up.   
They both apologized quickly before diving into their overflowing stockings, a traditional rule that they were only allowed to open them without everyone being up. These days their stockings were filled toiletries and necessities.   
“I’ll go start breakfast,” Kurt said blinking a little and heading into the kitchen.   
“I’ll see if Riley is up and wants to come out,” Blaine said making his way to her room.   
She was sitting up in her bed playing with her rabbit when he quietly peeked into her room. He knocked gently on the door to alert her of his presence.   
“Morning angel, you ready to see what Santa brought you?” he asked trying to keep the extra enthusiasm from his voice. It’s been a long time since they’ve had a child in the house for Christmas.   
She looked unsure at her rabbit for a moment before nodding slowly.   
“I’m sure he brought you stuff you’re going to love for being such a good and wonderful child.” Blaine reassured leading her back into the living room.   
When she saw everyone already sitting there she took a step towards Blaine and grabbed his hand, placing her thumb into her mouth.   
Both Sophie and Oliver wished her a Merry Christmas quietly trying not to overwhelm her.   
“Look your stocking is over here, and look how filled it is.” Blaine said trying to encourage her to open it.   
She looked at the stocking, then to Blaine, then to Sophie and Oliver, and then to Blaine.   
“Maybe you Kurt and I can open it together?” he suggested.   
She only looked down ashamed.   
After Kurt finished up starting the breakfast, and setting the timer he sat down on the opposite side of Blaine next to Riley to help her with her gifts. They helped her open the first couple after showing her what to do and then watched and encouraged her to do the rest on her own. The advised Oliver and Sophie to continue quietly behind the tree with their gifts. When she finished with her stocking Blaine pulled the rest of her Gifts over, settling her on the floor next to him. When she was present with the first present she simply looked at him and Blaine and hugged her rabbit closer to her looking worried.   
“Bunny can help you with the presents,” Kurt reassured her catching on she was worried she would have to give him up.   
As she opened the gifts she remained almost expressionless. She touched all of them gently taking her time with it and treasuring it before moving to the next one. After each one Kurt or Blaine would ask her what she got and she would look at them with wide surprised eyes and show them her new book or toy.   
After she finished with all her presents she hugged both Blaine and Kurt tightly before handing them each a book and settling in between them, waiting for one of the books to be read to her.   
Blaine thought that was the best gift anyone could have given him this year.


	12. Chapter 12

After Christmas and New Year’s things settled slowly. Progress was slowly made over the next couple months, but the only ones who seemed to notice were those closely watching and helping her. They started her with several different therapies; OT, PT, EFT, Nutrition, and a few others. The next step they wanted to take, when she was ready, was Play Therapy as well. They were fortunate enough to work with doctors willing to come to their house, though one of her doctors reminded them every session that eventually she would need to start leaving the house more.   
They were under more surveillance now. Anyone could drop by at any given time to check up on them. They kept the house as neat as possible and did what they could to keep to a strict routine. Oliver was back in school and though Sophie’s semester didn’t start for another week, she still flew back in hopes sign up for the best tutors. The process makes them reminisce the first time they went through the adopt process with Oliver. It’s different this time, of course, and for more reasons than just the special circumstances of Riley’s needs and condition. The first time they wanted a baby, someone who already pregnant and wanting to adopt. It was risky and they could have easily gotten their hearts broken for a second time, the first being when their surrogate miscarried suddenly and tragically the sixteenth week of the pregnancy. Now, they were trying to adopt someone they already met, verses someone picking them from a stack of files.   
The only problem was lately Kurt seemed to be showing signs of a midlife crisis. Blaine already experienced this when he found his first grey hair. He admits he went through it. He questioned every decision he made in life and where he was verses where he could have been. Kurt took his aging with grace, but now as their family is expanding he seems to be stepping back and freaking out, in his own Kurt way. Blaine first noticed it when Kurt went to check the lock six times when they went to bed last night and now he was trying to think back to all the things Kurt picked back up.   
Sam returned from Ohio a couple days ago, so Blaine called him over with the secret agenda of talking out a solution to help Kurt. Blaine just hoped Riley would be okay with a visitor today. Kurt was out on interviews with producers in hopes to get his script picked up, as much as they both loved being home all the time together they did need to start bringing in more money to pay for all of Riley’s treatments and therapy.   
Blaine sat and calmly colored with Riley, the television softly playing and educational kids show in the back ground. He was multitasking; killing time till Sam arrived and keeping Riley calm and relaxed. And Even though she did end up vanishing from the area when the doorbell rang she, didn’t bolt from the room or go into a panic. She just calmly picked up her beloved rabbit friend and went to hide in the coat closet.   
Blaine greeted Sam with a quick hug, immediately asking how Ohio and McKinley were.   
“Same, nothing ever changes there,” Sam replied pulling off his coat and going to hang it up before Blaine grabbed it from him. “Dude!”   
Blaine flashed him a quick look before carefully opening the closest door to a surprised Riley. He reached way above her and hung Sam’s coast up before leaving the door a little less than halfway open. Blaine doesn’t mind her playing, or hiding he guesses, in their coat closet. He doesn’t like that she’ll close the door all the way, and he knows once he leaves it slightly open she’ll get his hint and won’t close it any further.   
“It sure is a shame Riley isn’t here today,” Sam said loudly to get her attention.   
“I miss her when she goes on her adventures, but she’ll be back later.” Blaine responded, playing along with Sam’s game.   
“I came all the way here in the cold hoping to get a taste of her famous banana sandwiches Oliver is always raving about,” Sam added feigning tiredness from his journey.   
“She doesn’t make banana sandwiches for just anybody,” Blaine jokes, winking playfully at her. He already told Sam a couple times how bananas have become her favorite part of her still mostly bland diet. The sandwich itself isn’t anything too amazing, just some cut up banana between two pieces of toast, but it was her favorite to eat.   
Riley rushed over, colliding with Blaine’s legs and hiding behind him.   
“What do you think, angel?” Blaine asked trying to get a look at her without falling over, “should we make Sam some banana sandwiches?”   
She looked Sam up and down, hesitant about getting too close. She nodded, deciding to trust Blaine.   
“Excellent, alright let’s go wash our hands and start cooking”   
The sandwich making mostly involved Riley just wearing her apron that Kurt made her and standing next to Blaine as he made the sandwiches. They have tried to get her involved in helping prepare her snacks and lunches but she hasn’t caught onto the concept of actually helping yet. After their snack/meal Blaine puts Riley down for her nap before he and Sam sat down to talk.   
“So, what’s going on with Kurt that’s making you so worried?” Sam asked as he began setting up some video games for them to play as they talk.   
“I don’t know what’s going on with him, that’s what has me so worried.” Blaine sighs dramatically causing Sam to have to try to cough over his laugh. “The other night when we had dinner he just stared at his plate, didn’t even push his food around he just looked at it for the entire time we were at the table.”   
“Maybe he was sick?” Sam offered, but Blaine shook his head deciding that wasn’t it.   
“He wouldn’t be near Riley if that was the case,” Blaine began to explain. “Her immune system is still really low.”   
Blaine stayed quiet, only halfway concentrating on the game on the screen. “I’m worried. There is something obviously wrong, but he won’t tell me what it is. If I even try to push the subject he completely shuts down and closes himself off.”   
“This always happens. Kurt never talks about his problems and you get worried and then it all works out.” Sam stated obviously.   
“No, it’s different this time.” Blaine began to explain, pausing to think carefully about his words. His thoughts, however, are cut off when they hear a terrifying scream come from Riley’s bedroom.   
Blaine takes no hesitation and darts for the room. He finds her cowering in the corner screaming at some invisible being or object in front of her.   
“Riley, it’s alright” Blaine shushed moving slowly towards her.   
Normally, well lately, she would give in and seek Blaine’s or Kurt’s comfort after a nightmare. However, this time she began a more violent reaction to Blaine’s presence. Hitting, scratching, kicking, attempting to bite.   
“Hey, no” Blaine tried to say firmly, but it came out more surprised. “I know you’re scared and angry but we do not act like this, in this family.”   
When Sophie and Oliver had this level of a tantrum he would leave them be to cool down, but Riley has been known to harm herself and he couldn’t leave her even if she was doing everything she could to physically harm him.   
After she didn’t get a further reaction from Blaine she turned to destroying her room. Throwing anything she could pick up without too much effort.   
Blaine just sat and waited in the doorway tears in his eyes. According to what he read and the doctors he spoke to, moments of rage were expected and normal. The hospital staff told several stories about when she was coming down from her overly abundant testosterone levels that she became so aggressively violent they had no choice but to restrain her to her bed. But, it was different seeing and experiencing it.   
Eventually her energy began to drain and she ran out of steam. She was still angry and petrified by what Blaine could only assume was a nightmare. She quickly squeezed herself back in the corner, and began to bang her head against the wall.   
Blaine didn’t know what to do. As a parent, he knew he wasn’t supposed to reward negative behavior, but could he really punish her for something that is not really her fault.   
“You alright?” Sam asked from the other end of the hallway.   
Blaine nodded still not trusting his voice.   
“Your lip is bleeding,” Sam stated dumbly looking helpless and worried.   
Blaine touched his lip carefully, it must have been when she head-butted him.   
“I- she’s never-,” Blaine didn’t know what to say or how to explain it.   
“PTSD, right?” Sam asked. Blaine’s face must have shown his surprise to Sam’s knowledge about what she was experiencing, because he continued to explain without waiting for an answer. “When you first told me about her and bringing her home I read up on some stuff.”   
When Kurt came home later that night he didn’t say much, which lately has been the norm. It was late, both Riley and Oliver were already asleep, but Blaine knew Kurt would have to work later nights and longer hours at Vogue until he got a part in a show or someone picked up his show. It wasn’t the ideal situation but the medical bills would add up quickly, so they needed at least one source of income. Blaine was already in bed reading a book on child psychology in hopes of understanding Riley a little better. When they were younger, Blaine would jump up and greet Kurt the second he came in the door. He stopped doing around the time he and Kurt went through a slight rough patch right before Oliver turned two. But Kurt looked so lost and helpless when he entered the room, so without saying anything he helped Kurt get ready for bed.   
“Riley had an episode after her nap to today,” Blaine said as he softly babbled to Kurt about different things from the day. Kurt finally looked more alert as he sat further up in the bed, wanting Blaine to continue. “It got kind of violent. Sam thinks she was reliving a memory.”   
“Was everyone okay?” he asked, his eyes wide with worry.   
“We were both a little scratched and bruised, but fine.” Blaine answered holding onto Kurt’s hand needing that grounding. “It was scary for both of us. She refused to be near me or leave her room after it happened.”   
“We’ll have to document it for her doctor and have him bring up how it should be. I’m sure we should discuss violent behavior with her, but I don’t want her to punish herself for something she had no control over.” Kurt said reaching for his journal he has dedicated to documenting anything that had happened with Riley, both good and bad.   
“I just kind of sat there dumbly and let it happen,” Blaine sighed. “You should have been there, you would have known what to do.”   
Kurt turned his body, shifting to sit on his knees, giving Blaine a confused expression. “Blaine, just because I handle a situation differently than you doesn’t mean I would have been right.”   
Blaine shrugged a little, looking away from Kurt. He hadn’t felt this insecure about being a parent since Sophie was first born.   
“I don’t know how I would have reacted or what I would have done. In fact, since you’re home with the kids and spend more time with them I usually look to you when it comes how to handle situations that involve them,” Kurt clarified taking Blaine’s hands and making sure he had his full attention. “We can talk to her specialists and ask for advice? And there were those support groups I was would looking at.”   
“Do you think she is ready for us to leave her with someone else?” Blaine begins to ask, “What if she thinks we’re abandoning her?”   
“We had to leave her at the hospital before, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to let her get more comfortable and used to Sam.” Kurt answers giving Blaine a quick kiss and turning off his light, thus ending the conversation and leaving no more time for Blaine to further argue.   
Blaine sighs a little watching Kurt as he gets comfortable before settling in for some sleep himself.   
Blaine was in a deep sleep when he felt someone shoving him and saying his name in a loud whisper. Blaine turned away, mumbling and whining into his pillow.   
“Blaine, seriously? Wake up!” Kurt grumbled quietly. “I think someone is in the house.”   
At that Blaine sat straight up blinking rapidly, trying to wake up. The only other person in the house was Riley, since Oliver was supposed to be staying over his friend’s house, and she was still too terrified and ashamed of her actions to leave her room.   
Neither of them hesitated to spring out of bed to check on Riley, when they heard a crash echoing from the hall followed by a frightened scream. They were shocked to find a swaying and slurring Oliver standing over Riley who cowering in the corner. Next to Oliver was a shattered vase that Blaine only assumed Riley tried to throw at Oliver.   
He gave her a drawn out shush and then giggled before slurring and mumbling. “I know you’re always scared, but it’s okay.”  
“Oliver!”, “What is wrong with you?!” Both Blaine and Kurt spoke at once separating the two of them, Blaine picking up and holding Riley, and Kurt pushing Oliver away from her.   
Oliver stumbled on his feet before falling to floor, looking confused.   
“Oliver, are you drunk?!” Kurt asked, his voiced going up an octave.   
Blaine tightened his hold on Riley when she began to cry into his shoulder and neck. It wasn’t a panicked screaming kind of cry she usually did, but softer with hiccups.“You’re safe, I’m here, Kurt’s here, you’re home with us, we won’t let anything bad happen” He whispered soothing as he bounced her   
“idntdrink” Ollie mumbled close to tears now, still sitting on the floor.   
Kurt took no more hesitation to sit down next to him and trying to get a better look at his eyes, “Baby, we can’t understand you.”   
“I don’t feel good” he said more clearly this time.   
“Alright, up” Kurt said wasting no time to pull him up and lead him into the bathroom.   
Blaine walked back to his room, Riley refusing to let go of him until he sat down carefully on the bed and rocked her until she settled down.   
“Riley, I know you’re scared but you need to tell me if he hurt you,” Blaine started to ask. She didn’t appear to be hurt, just frightened but that didn’t mean Oliver didn’t do something to her. She didn’t answer, she just turned her head away hiding herself from Blaine.   
“Okay, did he touch you?” Blaine asked, this time trying to be slightly more specific. She carefully shook her head still not looking at Blaine.   
Blaine let out a soft sigh feeling relieved Oliver hadn’t accidently physically harmed her. He pulled Riley close again rocking her back and forth, softly humming one of the songs she has come to enjoy, trying to settle the high energy and emotions.   
“I want you to know that the behavior Oliver demonstrated tonight was not okay and there will be consequences for his actions.” Blaine said softly and calmly when her shaking began to stop. “It’s okay to feel scared, I was even scared.”   
She looked up with him with wide surprised eyes, causing him to slightly smile.   
“Oliver is a very good kid and has never behaved so stupidly. I am scared about why he did this or if something happened to him. I was scared something happened to you, that he hurt you.” Blaine answered keeping his voice calm and soft. “You’re a very brave girl,”   
He only stopped when she flinched at the word. She was still sensitive to any type of femininity, Blaine was starting to worry, but none of her specialists or therapists ever brought up the issue with him and he was worried about pushing too far too fast so he’s been burying the behavior in the back of his mind.   
It didn’t take long for Riley to fall back to sleep, Blaine was almost back to sleep himself when Kurt finally made it back into their bedroom looking worn, furious, and worried.   
“He says he didn’t drink anything but some soda” Kurt said quietly trying not to wake Riley.   
“He’s never lied to us before,” Blaine responds as Kurt starts to pace.   
“Yeah but the amount he threw up and the state he was in says otherwise. He was really out of it. He doesn’t know how he got home, he doesn’t know what happened before he got home. All he could tell me was he told them he didn’t want to drink anything,” Kurt informs his voice getting higher as he gets more upset.   
“Who is them?” Blaine asked ready to put the blame on someone else, find out what happened to their boy.   
“I dunno,” Kurt answered in a sigh, “I asked but he just started crying harder and telling me he didn’t drink anything.”   
“Come to bed, you can stress about it when we are all a little more rested in the morning,” Blaine said as he tried to guide Kurt on the other side of Riley.   
“Blaine,” Kurt quietly hissed, now annoyed with him “someone could have drugged our child and you want to sleep on it?”   
“Do you really think that happened?” Blaine asked more seriously now. He wasn’t in the bathroom with Oliver, his focus was on Riley.   
“Yes, I do. And I am debating on taking him to the hospital right now to be checked. Something could have happened to him.” Kurt said his voice wavering a little. He didn’t wait for a response from Blaine before he walked into the closest to get changed.   
“Do you want me to go?” Blaine asked quietly when Kurt came into the room fully dressed.   
“No,” Kurt rushed out before taking a calm breath, “no, you stay with Riley. I’ll be sure to call if anything is serious.”   
“Okay,” Blaine answered accepting a kiss to his forehead, “I’ll make you a big breakfast in bed when you get home.”   
Blaine listened to Kurt trying to get Oliver up and cooperating to get him out the door. There was a lot of stumbling and whining and Oliver’s part. Blaine made a mental to note to call Oliver’s friend’s parents about this when it was a more appropriate hour to make a call. He and Kurt were not unknown or unaware of underage drinking, but if Oliver insists he didn’t drink anything Blaine believes him. That is what makes it so upsetting to him. It would be one thing if Oliver had chosen on his own to drink, there wouldn’t be serious punishment but he would have a long talk about his actions and maybe a light grounding.   
Blaine rubbed his hands over his face before getting out of bed, deciding he wasn’t going to be getting any more sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Blaine isn’t exactly positive how long it has been since Kurt left with Oliver to go to the hospital. He knows he’s on his second cup coffee when his phone rings with Kurt’s name and photo on the screen. He takes a deep breath and picks it up with a quiet “hey.”   
“Blaine,” Kurt answers, his voice small and breathy, he’s scared. Blaine instantly wishes he offered to take Oliver knowing how much Kurt hates hospitals, but his mind is running three paces behind Kurt’s tonight.   
“Did someone …?” Blaine tries to ask, but he’s too afraid of the answer and chokes on his words.  
“No, no” Kurt rushes out and Blaine feels like he can finally breathe, “His drink was spiked with Rohypnol but he wasn’t” Kurt cuts off and Blaine can hear him breathing hard. “He’s going to recover just fine. They want to get him hydrated and make sure it’s out of his system before they let him leave.”   
Blaine can’t help the tears that come to his eyes. It’s bad, his drink was drugged, so of course it’s bad. But, Blaine knows it could have been so much worse. He could have been kidnapped or raped. He could have died. Blane forces his mind to concentrate that Oliver is alive and is being taken care of, that is recovering and will be better.   
“Blaine, I’m calling about something else” Kurt’s voice is small again, a little more panicky than before. “Are you sitting down?”   
Blaine nods, worried again, before he remembers he needs to actually use his voice. “Yeah, I’m sitting.”   
“And you’re alone?” Kurt asks. Blaine knows Kurt is referring to Riley, since no one else would be up at this hour.   
“She’s still sleeping in our room,” Blaine answers. “I was too worried to sleep.”   
“I ran into Declan. He told me there was a woman here almost a week ago, claiming to be related to Riley. She saw her on the news and she,” Kurt takes a second to calm himself, his voice getting more wet as he pushes through. “They ran some tests and if everything matches,”   
“Kurt, we won’t let them take her” Blaine cuts when Kurt gets too worked up to continue.   
“How? We have no legal right to her,” Kurt hisses, voice still filled with emotion.   
“We’ll fight it,” Blaine tries to insist, but it’s weak and he knows their probability of winning isn’t high.   
“Blaine” It’s only his name but the way Kurt is saying he knows what he means, so he stops his rambling.   
“I don’t want to leave Ollie alone for too long,” Kurt says again after a moment of silence from the both of them. “We’re not supposed to know anything about this and Declan told me in confidence, so don’t say anything to anyone.”   
“I understand,” Blaine answers his eyes welling up with tears. “I love you”  
“I love you too” Kurt responds before hanging up.   
He sits there, tears going down his cheeks, unsure of how to move, or think, or breathe. He quickly rushes to dry his face off when he catches Riley coming down the hallway. She looks at him for a moment, pacifier in her mouth. He knows she is too old for it, but she is small for her age so she looks so much like a baby. He’s about to ask if she is okay when she takes off back down the hallway. Blaine feels so much in that moment. He’s worried his crying has frightened her in some way, but he is also glad to see her muscles improving. Her legs are no longer shaking at too much use.   
He is about to get up and find her, when she darts back to him, pacifier out of her mouth and bunny in hand. She hands him her bunny and Blaine let’s out a wet chuckle at the offer. Kurt has just replaced the sent pack in stuffed animal and the smell of warm vanilla gives him some comfort. He thanks her, trying to hold back more tears. She climbs up on the sofa next to him and pushes her way into his arms, looping her tiny arms around his neck giving him a hug. Blaine hugs her tightly a few more tears escaping. In this moment, he never wants to let her go.   
He always waits for her to pull away first before letting her go.   
“How about we watch a movie?” Blaine suggests after he takes another couple of seconds to compose himself.   
She slides down the sofa and over the storage rack of movies, not hesitating to pull Tarzan off the shelf and hand it to Blaine. Blaine smiles and holds back some laughter. It’s the only movie she ever wants to watch. They’ve tried introducing other movies with the same type of family theme, but this is the one that always stuck with her.   
“Sure, go get you blanket and I’ll set up the movie.” He instructs, getting off the sofa to turn television on and put the movie in the player.   
She comes back into the room with her pacifier back in her mouth and her blanket trailing behind her. She settles once more on the sofa, this time curling up in the end corner. Blaine thanks her again for sharing her rabbit and hands it back to her to cuddle with before placing the blanket gently over her.  
Blaine must have dozed off because the next thing he notices is a soft hand stroking his hair and a light kiss to his forehead. He hums a little bit before forcing his eyes open. Kurt is standing over him behind the sofa with a fond smile on his face. As soon as Blaine goes to move he feels his neck tense up and winces a little. The movement causes Riley, who is now curled up in his lap to stir a little. He lightly rubs her back and she quickly settles.   
“How is Ollie?” Blaine whispers, rushing the words out from being so worried.   
“He’s fine, just mostly tired now. They expect him to make a full recovery,” Kurt hums coming to sit on the other side of Blaine.   
Blaine nods to the answer, trying to figure out what fine means, before asking “And you? How are you?”   
Kurt looks shocked and frozen at the question, he fidgets a little before suggesting Blaine goes and see’s Oliver before he falls asleep.   
Blaine nods at the suggestion and heads for Oliver’s room. The door is open so Blaine can see Oliver sitting on the bed, looking tired and sickly. Blaine knocks quietly on the door frame alerting Oliver he is there.   
“Can I come in?” Blaine asks softly  
Oliver nods and takes a deep breath.   
“Hey, it’s okay” Blaine begins to comfort taking a spot next to Oliver on the bed, rubbing his back. Oliver sniffles a little more, fighting his tears.   
“I’m so sorry dad” he finally cries out and places his head on Blaine’s shoulder.   
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Blaine starts, pulling him close and comforting him like he used to when he was little. “As long as you are telling the truth, which I believe you are, then you did nothing wrong.”   
Oliver sniffles a little more and begins to lose his breath in his hysterics.   
“I’m not mad, and neither is your Papa. We were just worried about you. We have both had some bad experiences with drinking, so we aren’t surprised you had experience with it, but I was surprised you didn’t tell us you were going to a party.” Blaine explains calmly, trying to carefully word his feelings.   
“I didn’t know,” Oliver whimpers and his breath begins to hitch more.   
“We don’t need to talk about it now,” Blaine reassures, shushing his cries like he would a baby. “How about you get your pajamas on and we have a movie marathon in the living room?”   
Oliver simply nods, using the back of his hand to wipe away his tears. Blaine gives him a light kiss on the forehead before heading back out to the living room, where Kurt is trying to get Riley to eat breakfast.   
“We decided to have a pajama party and watch a movie to settle down, care to join us?” Blaine mostly asks Kurt, but is mindful to address Riley. Kurt gives a tired smile and leaves the room to get changed.   
“When you finish breakfast, you can join us too,” Blaine adds as an incentive for her to finish her nutritional drink.   
She nods and takes a careful sip, showing Blaine she is willing to follow rules. Sometimes getting her to eat is a struggle, but Blaine remembers Sophie being worse. He remembers all the formulas they went through to find one that didn’t cause any digestions issues. It took so long that by the time they found one that worked for her she refused to eat, and it turned into something she never really grew out of. Blaine believes that Riley just gets full easily and now that she realizes food will always be available to her and will not be taken away from her she eats a lot less and a lot slower now. When she’s tired, like she is now, she can also be fussy about eating.   
It takes the family longer to get settled with a movie than it takes them to fall asleep on the sofa while watching the movie. 

It’s probably the last proper sleep they get for a while, since both Oliver and Riley develop a habit of sleeping in Kurt and Blaine’s bedroom when they suffer from nightmares. They try not to let it show, but it’s putting them both on edge. Even if they were too tired to talk it was their time together. It really forces Blaine to think about how this is the time he and Kurt are supposed to rediscover themselves as a couple, especially with Sophie out of the house. Kurt is getting harder to read and that last moment of alone time Blaine was really able to get a better read on Kurt, maybe not well enough to know exactly what was going on, but something. Kurt has also started to pull away from Blaine, again, and Blaine refuses for it to happen, but he doesn’t know how to handle it.   
Blaine is blinking at the coffee beans in his hands, trying to remember how the coffee maker works when Kurt comes into the kitchen, his hair still a mess and a tired expression on his face. He gently takes the coffee from Blaine’s hands and measures it out, taking over the task. Kurt was always better at functioning with no sleep, he avoids reasoning why and just focusing on admiring him for it.   
“Thank you,” he mumbles taking a seat at the table. Kurt simple hums in response and goes to search for one of Blaine’s mugs.   
It quiet except for the coffee maker and Blaine is fighting falling back to sleep in his chair. They haven’t been this tired since Oliver was an infant and refused to sleep at night. When his coffee is ready Kurt hums his name and hands him the warm cup. Blaine blinks tiredly at it, not sure if he has the energy to drink it.   
Blaine is halfway through his cup when Kurt speaks again, something obviously on his mind for a while.   
“We might need to consider getting the press involved,” he suggests in a small voice.   
It takes Blaine longer than he would like to admit to catch up to what Kurt is talking about. They have avoided the pressed, both have stayed out of the lime light. Blaine isn’t sure if they are a hot enough celebrity couple to get a scandal out there.   
“Kurt,” Blaine begins, saying his name through a sigh.   
“Everyone always loved you, you will need to get back into the music world before we give them the story,” Kurt continues ignoring Blaine’s intent to argue with him. “I know you several new songs that no one has seen, except for me when I organized your office a couple weeks ago.”   
Blaine blinks at him, he had no idea Kurt organized his office, it was one place Kurt agreed that would be off limits. He gives Kurt the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe one of his OCD attacks got the better of him with all the stress lately.   
“I’m not doing well getting back into the working world anyway,” his voice begins to waver and grow smaller. It makes Blaine place his mug down. “No one wants me. They don’t like the show I’ve written, they don’t have any parts for me. I’m not what they’re looking for,” he spits the end out like the words are disgusting.   
Blaine wants to cry with him, he wishes he had something to say. They’ve been here before with Kurt. It was always harder for him to get roles, none of Blaine’s words of comfort and encouragement worked then so all he can do is pull Kurt into a hug and let him cry. Blaine knows part of this is Kurt’s exhaustion and later after they are more rested he will find more of the truth behind Kurt’s words.   
“We should call your brother for help,” Kurt says through his tears.   
“Okay, now I know you’re not thinking right,” Blaine teases. “Cooper is never the answer to any problem. We’re not going to discuss this until we have both slept more. We don’t even know if she is her mother or if she will want custody.”   
Kurt doesn’t respond, but Blaine can feel him nodding. He kisses the side of his head tenderly, hoping Kurt can’t read that he is just as worried about the pending situation.


	14. Chapter 14

They are both on edge waiting for some type of formal document stating that Riley will be taken from them. They keep it between them, not wanting to alarm anyone else unless it happens. Kurt wants to start researching what they can do but Blaine cautions him since they aren’t supposed to actually know about the mysterious woman. Blaine isn’t even fully convinced she will fight for Riley, he takes the optimistic route to believe that maybe she will just want to visit or meet her. To keep their minds off their pending situation and the stress they decide to try to start bringing Riley out into the world, not wanting to keep her locked inside much longer. It starts simply with moving all her doctor and therapy appoints to the actual offices. She is super tense when there is more than one other person around, but she doesn’t seem to shut down like she used to. They decide to expand and take her on short outings like getting cookies at their favorite bakery or having a picnic in the park.

Oliver seems to retreat into himself, and they experienced the same thing with Sophie at this age, but they are not entirely positive they can blame it on teen hormones. He just sometimes gets these looks that remind Blaine of when he first met Kurt, and it frightens him because he knows how lonely, and scared, and hurt Kurt was. He never wants Oliver to feel that way. Kurt plans days where it's only about Oliver as a solution. At this time only one of them can do something with him since Riley isn’t ready to be alone with Sam yet, but they switch on and off and take him to places he wants to go and experience things he wants to do. He doesn’t open up quite like they were hoping, but he seems to have fun and at least forget about what was bothering him.

It’s a Thursday and since Oliver is in school and Riley is finished her appoints early they decide, well Kurt decides and Blaine just goes along with it, that they should take her shopping. Kurt brought up that now that she is eating more and eating regularly she has grown out of the clothes they first bought her. Blaine couldn’t but smile proudly at her when he couldn’t get her shirt to stretch over her stomach and then noticed that her pants were slightly too short for her. Food was a difficult thing with Riley. She had a very limited diet, and she had a tendency towards hiding food out of fear that it will be taken away from her. Every time they give her something to eat they remind her there will always be food for her and they won’t let her starve.

The boutique Kurt takes them to is small and quiet. The owner meets them as they enter, and Kurt explains they met during his days in Vogue. Riley clings to him and hides behind his leg even after the owner leaves them to be in the store and instructs Kurt to ring her when they are ready to check out. Kurt leads them over to the mirrors on the other side of the store. Blaine takes her hand and smiles brightly at her hoping it will ease her tension and hesitation. She watches carefully as Kurt grabs the tape measure from the table next to the mirror.

“Alright, Angel, stand still for me so I can figure out what size you are” Kurt instructs as he measures her. Once he figures out her size he walks over and grabs a couple different items showing her the tags and what to look for. “You can pick anything you like as long it has a tag with this number or this letter. Blaine will even hold them for you.”

She stands there at first looking confused as she glances towards the racks of clothing. She starts to close on herself and tense uncomfortably.

“Whatever you pick will be right” Kurt encourages and walks towards one of the tables with simple t-shirts pretending to look at them.

Blaine watched her carefully, taking Kurt’s lead of not taking a more hands on approach. It’s a difficult exercise for her since she has become so dependent on them, but they want to show her the freedom she has. He wants to help in the worst way. He hates seeing her struggle, but Kurt is trying to teach her some independence and he wants to respect that.

“Go on, we’ll be right behind you” Blaine tries and guides her away from the mirror and towards the racks.

She hesitantly reaches to touch some of the items on hangers, looking back at them for permission before doing so.

They soon learn shopping with Riley takes a lot of time, but with the continuous encouragement she eventually gets the hang of it and carefully selects items. They don’t correct her when she selects from the boys’ sections, but they do share a knowing look when she tries on a dress that Kurt picked out and she looks so uncomfortable and shameful. Blaine just knows that Kurt’s internally freaking out and over analyzing the situation, he can feel the energy come from him. But, Kurt doesn’t react, he places all the items that were more feminine back in their place and they leave a more masculine wardrobe for Riley, giving her praise for picking out her own clothes.

“You always say fashion has no gender,” Blaine finally says when they get home and Riley down for a nap. 

“Did I say anything?” Kurt asks accusingly, not looking up from the laundry he is sorting to the addition of her new clothes.

“You even wear sweaters from the women’s department,” Blaine adds ignoring the questions, pushing the topic further.

“I do,” Kurt agrees still not looking at Blaine.

“Maybe we should get her hair cut short,” Blaine suggests sitting on the bed so Kurt can no longer ignore him. “You can cut it for her, she needs it anyway.”

“Blaine,” Kurt says in defeated yet warning tone.

Blaine stays quiet grabbing and gently holding Kurt’s hands. He knows Kurt wants to ignore this. He knows if it were Sophie or Oliver Kurt wouldn’t react this way, but Riley is special and needs to be dealt with differently.

“What if it’s because of what they…” he cuts off shaking his head the thought obviously disgusting him. He moves aside some of the clothes and sits next to Blaine, looking at his hands in lap.

“What if it’s not?” Blaine challenges, and only continues when Kurt doesn’t respond. “Maybe you’re right, but it won’t hurt her to explore the idea. We’ll talk to Doctor Martin about it and figure out how to approach the idea, but you saw her in that dress she was so awkward.”

Kurt hums in agreement, “It was painful, like when I went through my Mellencamp phase, which you still don’t believe I went through,” he teases at the end, bumping Blaine’s shoulder.

“Look I can believe you made out with Britney to prove something, but without pictures, I cannot believe that you wore a trucker hat and a puffy vest.” Blaine teases back laughing lightly.

“It wasn’t like it worse than the Dalton uniform,” Kurt says slow, going back to the wash.

“You take that back,” Blaine feigns insult.

“No,” Kurt answers light, a smile in his voice.

“You’re a liar Kurt Hummel. I know you loved the blazer,” Blaine answer in a sneaky tone, “or else..”

“Or else what?” Kurt challenges with his hands on his hips.

Blaine refuses to break face so instead of responding he pulls Kurt towards him and begins to mercilessly tickle and kiss him. Their goofing around is loud enough that it brings a sleepy-eyed Riley to their room watching them with curiosity. Kurt pushes Blaine off him a little more forcefully nodding to Riley. Blaine smiles and quickly scoops her up and begins to lightly tickle her. Her little shrieks of laughter make everything they are going through worth it, it’s these moments they are giving her that make loving her so easy.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Kurt says when she begins to get more breathy sounding.

Blaine stops tickling her but continues to hold on to her, at least until she initiates she is ready to get down. He leans over and gives a small kiss to Kurt as an innocent apology for getting slightly out of control.

Kurt fought the laugh creeping on his lips as he went to answer his phone that started to ring. Blaine cleared his throat and waited patiently to see if this was the call they were waiting for.

“Hello?” Kurt answered turning his back to Blaine and Riley. “This is he.”

Riley, growing bored, began to poke and pull at Blaine trying to get his attention, eventually settling with tracing the lines on his hands as Kurt quietly spoke to whoever was on the phone.

“He what?!” Kurt yelled into the phone. “Yes, thank you, I will be right over to claim him.”

Riley sat frozen watching carefully as Blaine stood to comfort Kurt and find out what was happening.

“That was a movie theater manager, apparently Ollie was sneaking into a movie with some friends of his,” Kurt stated, trying to keep his anger and annoyance out of his voice.

“He’s supposed to be in school,” Blaine responded confused.

“Thank you, Blaine, I know that” Kurt snapped, slipping on his shoes.

“Don’t take it out on me,” Blaine barked back before sighing loudly. “Just try to keep your cool when you pick him up.”

“He is skipping school and you expect me to keep cool? Blaine we have gone out of our way to help him with whatever he is going through and this is what he goes and does- “

“I know,” Blaine interrupts still aware that Riley is watching and listening, studying them, “But, we should hear what he has to say before we decide anything.”

“Fine, I will listen and then ground him. Blaine, we can’t keep ignoring this problem. His grades are slipping and now he’s sneaking into movies.” Kurt answered, his voice now filled with concern.

Blaine knows that Kurt is at a loss at how to handle this. Both Sophie and Oliver were exceptionally good children. They had their normal time outs when they were young, but neither of them was ever at the point of grounding them.

He follows Kurt to the front door, Riley close behind them, and gives him one last quick kiss goodbye before Kurt walks out the door to go pick up Oliver.

“It’s alright, Riley,” Blaine explains calmly when he sees her eyes wide and wet. “Kurt won’t hurt Oliver, he’s just a little upset that Oliver did something wrong. We’ll settle on his punishment later, but it won’t be more than no phone or computer for a week.”

She didn’t respond, but she looked skeptical of Blaine’s response.

“Come on, let’s go make a snack and I’ll try to explain it a little better.”

Blaine quickly puts together some graham crackers with peanut butter and fruit for her and got her settled in her seat at the table. He encouraged her to at least eat half of the crackers on the plate, making sure she was meeting her new daily calorie intake recommended by one of her doctors.

“Riley, angel,” Blaine started not sure exactly how to have this conversation, “I know you’re worried about Oliver because Kurt seemed really upset and it’s okay to be worried. Before you were here with us and in the hospital, you were with some really mean people.”

Blaine paused watching her look down nervously picking at her food now.

“I don’t know what they did, but I know they hurt you and I need you to understand we would never hurt you, or Oliver, or Sophie. Kurt and I love all three of you more than anything. Sometimes, as parents, we have to teach our children right and wrong and today Oliver did something wrong, but our punishment will not be harmful to him and we still love him even though he did something wrong …” Blaine trailed off nervously, worried he wasn’t getting the words right. “Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

She nodded slightly but still hadn’t looked up at him.

“When they get back, you might hear them arguing and maybe they’ll get a little loud, but it’ll be okay. It’s okay if you get a little scared by it. If you want we can go for a short walk or go somewhere quiet, you just need to tell me if you need that.” Blaine explained still watching her picking at her food.

She nodded again before placing a small piece her mouth and looking at him carefully. Blaine can only guess that she is trying to study him and see if he is telling the truth or not. He can only hope Kurt and Oliver won’t be too intense for her when they come back.

 

It takes Kurt and Oliver much longer to walk back in the door than Blaine assumed it will, and they aren’t arguing or shouting like he thought they would either. Riley and Blaine are in the middle of working on their sign language when they hear the door open and Kurt speaking.

“Alright, head into your room and start your homework, I’ll get you when dinner is ready and then it’s shower and bed. No phone, no computer.” Kurt said calmly following Oliver through the door.

He nodded and silently made his way to the room, hunched in on himself.

Kurt looked exhausted from whatever happened. “They didn’t press any charges, and Oliver hasn’t said a word to me. I asked him what happened and he won’t say anything.”

“You want me to try to talk to him?” Blaine asked, understanding Kurt’s exhaustion.

“Leave him be for a while. Maybe when dinner’s ready one of us can go talk to him and see if he’ll explain what’s going on.” Kurt answered calmly taking a seat next to Riley to see what she was working on.

“Riley do you want to help me get dinner ready so Blaine can work on some of his music?” Kurt asked side eyeing Blaine. They haven’t had the conversation they needed to about Blaine returning to work, mostly because Kurt isn’t ready to talk about his difficulty finding his place in the theater community.

“Kurt, I don’t-“

“You haven’t worked on your music in a long time. I’m not saying you need to make another album and have a comeback, I’m just saying go back to working on it for your love of it.” Kurt explains not giving Blaine the chance to argue. He watches fondly as Kurt guides her from one activity to the next. Blaine wants to follow them into the kitchen continue seeing Riley thrive in her new environment, but he takes Kurt’s advice and wanders into his office. 

He isn’t thrilled that Kurt found his way into here and reorganized it. This was supposed to be his space that Kurt couldn’t take over, but he doesn’t dwell on it. It was true he hadn’t touched his music in a while. Instead of pulling out his most recent projects he shuffles through the files pulling out something he wrote when they were finally allowed to bring Oliver home from the hospital. It takes a second to figure out Kurt’s new filing system, but then he finds an apology note along with Kurt’s new method of organization. The sheet music the song is written on is messy, there are crayon marks and an orange splotch in the corner.

Blaine slides himself onto the piano bench, lifting the lid and being kind of grateful that Kurt had been in his office because if Kurt had followed the rules and stayed out he would have had a face full of dust by now. The piano is small but beautiful. It had been a graduation gift from Kurt, Blaine still doesn’t know where he found the money for it but he knows better than to ask. When he starts to play the nostalgia hits him and he’s transported to when Oliver was an infant and Sophie was going on six. He plays and edits until his fingers begin to ache and then he refiles the music and decides Kurt is right, he usually is, he needs to go back to his music.

He can smell dinner when he leaves his office and chooses to try and see if Oliver is willing to talk. He knocks quietly on the door, waiting a couple seconds before entering the room. Blaine finds Oliver laying curled up on his bed. His books are piled on his desk and Blaine hopes he has actually done his homework like Kurt asked him to. He carefully sits down on the side of the bed, he wants to reach out to Oliver but he knows that this is not the right moment and doing so will likely only make Oliver shut down and close himself off to Blaine. He is so much like Kurt in this way.

“You want to talk about it?” Blaine asked softly keeping any aggravation from his voice. He only continues when he doesn’t get a response. “I know your Papa can get a little intense, but I promise to just let you talk.”

“He wasn’t,” Oliver mumbled.

“What?” Blaine asks not positive what Oliver said.

“Papa didn’t yell, though I deserve it,” Oliver answered still not looking at Blaine.

“This isn’t like you, we just want to help.” Blaine tried when Oliver didn’t continue. “You would never skip school or sneak into a movie. Neither would the friends we met. I just hope you’re not doing this to be popular or something.”

“They’re not my friends anymore.” Oliver rushed out his voice tight.

Blaine was afraid to say anything. This is the most Oliver has shared since he came home from the party.

“And I hate that school so that’s why I skipped,” Oliver said after Blaine didn’t ask any questions.

“Okay,” Blaine responds because he knows Oliver is starting to look for something to pick a fight about.

“Okay? That’s it?” Oliver sits up and yells.

“I hated the first high school I went to and your Papa hated his school for a while too.” Blaine shares, it’s the truth and he’s always believed in telling his kids the truth.

Oliver throws himself back down on the bed turning away from Blaine again.

“Whatever you’re going through we are here for you Ollie, whatever you need, but that does not give you a reason to break the rules. Your Papa and I are willing to ride this storm out with you, but that doesn’t mean we will tolerate certain behavior.” Blaine said firmly standing up and crossing his arms over his chest. He cleared his throat before continuing, worried to ask the next question. “Is this about Riley?”

“What? No!” Oliver answered, clearly offended by the question.

“Well I have no idea what else it would be about, because you haven’t shared anything with me,” Blaine starts and holds up a hand when Oliver is ready to argue “and I’m not asking to share it with me if you’re not ready, but you can’t blame me for trying to figure out what is going on with you.” Blaine sighs at the end, more over the fact that he lost his calmness that he knew was needed in the situation.

It was tense and silent, Oliver not sitting on the edge of the bed looking at the floor. Blaine stayed there waiting to be kicked out but ended up leaving when Kurt called for dinner.

Any anger that was left from the conversation was gone when Blaine entered the kitchen. There was flour and sauce and cheese everywhere, Kurt was covered head to toe. Blaine couldn’t help the laugh slip.

“Don’t,” Kurt warned. “We had a couple little incidents when making the pizza.”

“Oh, Riley I hope you made the pizza, Kurt makes weird pizza flavors.” Blaine jokes helping Kurt finish filling their drink glasses.

“Says the man who likes pineapple on his pizza,” Kurt quips back.

“So, salty and sweet is only okay with certain combinations?” Blaine questions.

“Just take your pizza,” Kurt says handing him a plate, rolling his eyes but smiling.

He sits at the table and immediately begins to help Riley with her fork.

“Is Oliver joining us tonight?” Kurt asks, still setting his place at the table.

“I don’t know,” Blaine answers honestly.

Kurt nods in response before taking a bite of his pizza.

Riley starts to squirm nervously in her seat not taking her eyes off Oliver’s plate. Blaine makes casual conversation, ignoring her nervousness, hoping she will settle down. Instead, she slides out of her booster seat and under the table.

“Riley!” Kurt says surprised, mouth full of pizza.

She grabs Oliver plates and darts for his room, doing her best not to drop it. Blaine and Kurt both hop from the table and quickly follow her. She opens and slams the door behind her in their face. When they enter the room, they find Oliver with his plate of pizza and Riley trying to pull him under the bed.

She freezes when she sees the two of them in the door way, but doesn’t seem to notice their faces are confused and surprised rather than mad.

Blaine is the first one to try to get closer to her as tears start to well in her eyes but she scratches at him and whines loudly.

“Hey,” Oliver says reaching out to her, “It’s okay they just want to help.”

She looks at them confused and guarded.

“They weren’t keeping food from me. I chose not to come to dinner.” Oliver continues to explain slowly, not making eye contact with them.

She’s still frozen her spot, but she looks more embarrassed and confused than frightened now.

“How about we all go finish dinner together?” Blaine suggests moving closer to her again and reaching his hand out.

This time she takes his hand and allows him to lead her back to her seat at the table, Oliver following behind him. Kurt sets aside his roughly handled pizza and gets him a fresh slice before taking his seat again. They all pretend nothing happened to save Riley from further embarrassment, but Blaine makes himself a mental note to try to explain everything better to her later.


	15. Chapter 15

“Kurt,” Blaine tries, soft and reassuring.

“You need to stop,” he tries again when he doesn’t get any response or signal that Kurt is listening to him. He’s so helpless in these moments, and he hates it, but not in same way Kurt hates it, which they are currently experiencing. Blaine had come home to everything they had owned out in the open and Kurt furiously scrolling through his laptop unable or refusing to respond to any of Blaine’s pleas. He still hasn’t found the reason or cause for Kurt’s actions though he can assume what it may have been.

“Kurt!” He finally snaps closing the laptop and moving it to the side, frustration getting the best of him. Kurt’s breathing hard and he’s shaking, Blaine can’t tell if he’s furious or trying not to cry. The only thing he knows is he had only seen Kurt this extreme twice, when their second child miscarried and when Burt passed away.

“What is going on?” Blaine finally questions, taking Kurt’s hands in his own forcing him to focus on Blaine.

Kurt doesn’t answer for a while, but Blaine waits and just sits there lightly holding Kurt’s hands, hoping it’s somehow bringing him back. He knows it’s not helping when the next thing Kurt says is “We need boxes.”

All he can do is sit there as Kurt gets up and grabs his keys ready to leave Blaine in this mess.

“Kurt, no, we don’t need boxes,” Blaine reasons rushing after Kurt and stopping him from walking out the door. “I need you to talk to me!” He’s begging now.

Kurt clothes his eyes and shakes his head trying to clear his mind. The only thing Blaine tries, which only works less than half of the time, is pulling Kurt into a tight hug. Most of the time physical contact doesn’t work in calming Kurt down, he likes his space, but Blaine is at a loss.

“Please, just talk to me,” he tries again softer and calmer this time. When Kurt can’t seem to focus and form words he asks; “What do we need boxes for?”

“We need to move,” Kurt says after a breath. His voice is still robotic but he’s aware of Blaine’s presence now, and that's progress according to Blaine.

“Move?” Blaine asks dumbly because none of it makes sense to him. Kurt went through decluttering period during both those tragedies, and that’s what he thought this was going to be.

“We were supposed to move out of the city a while ago, but we never did,” Kurt explains, moving back to organizing the chaos around them.

It was something they talked about before Sophie was born. They talked about having a house with a yard for their children to run around in, but instead, they settled in a nicer neighborhood in the city to raise a family. The idea was never brought up again.

“We discussed that almost nineteen years ago, Kurt,” Blaine tries to reason, still pulling for what this is actually about.

“We need space. It’s too small here.” Kurt adds, moving to taking the pictures off the wall.

“Okay, stop,” Blaine says as he tries to stop Kurt from actually removing the pictures. He ends up having to physically fight him for it. When he gets the picture away from Kurt, Blaine knows he made a mistake because he sees what’s coming next in Kurt’s eyes before he turns and marches away.

“Kurt, don’t you go in there!” Blaine shouts chasing after him. “You promised me my space,” he begs, catching Kurt at the door. He knows, now it’s a game of chicken because when Kurt gets in this mindset, he takes it as a dare. He will only go in there with the purpose of hurting Blaine and Blaine knows it will most likely respond with him purposely hurting Kurt. Neither of them wants to hurt the other, but it’s their passion they have.

“Please,” Blaine begs again, his voice and eyes wet. “Please, don’t do this.”

“I’m moving, with or without you,” Kurt responds, his voice cold and hard, before walking away.

Blaine feels exhausted and ready to collapse when he hears the front door open and close. He knows Kurt doesn’t mean any of what he says, and that he will most likely return with his mind back in order, but it still scares and hurts Blaine to go through this with him.

Blaine wants to clean up while he is waiting for Kurt to return, but he knows only doing so will make the situation worse. He takes a deep breath and heads into Oliver’s room where he immediately sent both him and Riley to hide out when he saw the state Kurt and the home were in.

He smiles slightly at them listening to music as they worked on a small puzzle.

“Dad,” Oliver says worried when he notices him in the room.

“It’s going to be okay, Ollie,” Blaine explains. Sophie had experienced both Kurt past episodes with them, she mostly only remembers when Burt passed, but she has some recollection of the miscarriage. Oliver, on the other hand, was barely a toddler when Burt died, and he was not conceived during the time of miscarriage. He has seen some of Kurt’s OCD episodes, but nothing to this level.

Blaine is surprised Riley isn’t more nervous and scared. She has had worse reactions to much lesser things. Then again, she may be unaware of what is going on. Neither Kurt or Blaine yelled, and Blaine rushed her into Oliver’s room before taking in the mess. 

“I’m going to text Uncle Sam, and we’re going to pick up a pizza and have dinner with him and Wayne tonight,” Blaine explained pulling out his phone to send a quick message to Sam and Kurt before ordering a pizza.

Blaine was a little apprehensive having Riley over Sam’s and meeting Wayne, but he still thought it would be quieter than if they ate out at a restaurant. The closer they got to Sam’s the close Riley clung to Blaine. Eventually, she ended up having to be carried. She clung to his shirt tightly, hiding her face when they got to Sam’s, and she heard the dog on the other side of the door.

Sam had gotten Wayne, a golden retriever, after his divorce a couple of years ago. It was a short marriage, and Blaine thinks the conflict arose from them both moving too quickly, but it left Sam with a hole in his heart and some major commitment issues. He never wanted to get married again. Therefore none of his relationships ever lasted. He was upfront about it, and most girls stayed for a while, probably hoping they would change him, but it was something he didn’t believe in anymore.

“It’s alright,” Blaine reassured, rubbing her back gently. “Wayne is a nice and calm.”

“Yeah,” Oliver adding, not hesitating to start petting and scratching the dog behind the ears instantly. “Plus, he knows all these awesome ticks.”

“I can put Wayne in the bedroom,” Sam offered after setting the pizza on the kitchen table. “Wayne, go to bed bud.” He commanded not waiting for a response from Blaine.

The dog without hesitation or pouting instantly turned and went down the narrow hallway into the room on the right. Sam followed him and shut the door once he knew Wayne was in bed with his teeth stick. Sam and Wayne bonded over some advanced training, he knew enough tricks to be in movies and had enough obedience to be a therapy dog.

They ate with calm conversation, Riley never leaving Blaine’s lap, nerves getting the better of her from being in a new space. Sam knew better than to ask for details with Riley and Oliver sitting there and therefore opted to converse about new fan theories or telling fun stories from Blaine’s senior year in high school.

After dinner, Oliver and Riley set themselves in front of the television in the living room while Blaine and Sam conversed quietly in the kitchen. It took a lot of effort to get Riley to detach herself from Blaine, but when she realized she could still see him from the living room since Sam’s apartment was on the smaller side, she settled next to Oliver comfortably.

Blaine barely spoke above a whisper, only loud enough to Sam to hear him, about the situation at home.

“Dude, do you think it’s about?” Sam asked not saying what exactly they were thinking out loud.

“I can only assume,” Blaine shrugged looking over at Oliver and Riley. “You don’t think Kurt would?”

“No,” Sam insisted, not letting him finish. “Kurt loves you, and he loves his three kids. I don’t think he meant any of what he said.”

“He wants me to go back to music,” Blaine said after a moment of thinking what else could cause Kurt to have this level of an OCD attack, “produce another album, and relaunch myself.”

“Are you?” Sam asked, no judgment in his voice.

“I don’t know, we never discussed it. It just came up and was never brought up again. Kurt mentioned having trouble getting into shows, and no one wanting the one he wrote, so his solution was for me to go back to work instead.” Blaine explained.

“You said you wanted to get back to music now that Sophie was away at college,” Sam added with a shrug.

“Yeah, but then circumstances changed,” Blaine responded trying not to sound frustrated, about to explain further what he wanted but was interrupted by Wayne coming out of the bedroom and padded towards the living room.

“Wayne, I can see you dude,” Sam said rolling his eyes “you’re not invisible.”

Normally the golden retriever was so well behaved he would have turned around at this point, but instead, he ignored Sam and continued forward into the living room. Riley moved closer to Oliver and the back of the couch trying to hide from the dog when he placed his hand on the seat next to hers.

Blaine couldn’t help, but laugh when he got close enough to see that Wayne was not making eye contact with her or Oliver.

“Wayne,” Sam scolded.

Wayne let out a small huff and laid down on the floor near where Riley’s feet would be if she weren't curled up and trying to hide from the dog.

“Riley, look it’s okay,” Blaine reassured as he reached down to pet Wayne softly.

She looked over the edge carefully, still keeping her distance.

“You want to try?” Blaine asked reaching his arms out for her, to pull her into his lap.

She observes the dog as she climbs down and clings to Blaine. As she clings onto to him, Blaine continues to softly stroke Wayne’s fur, hoping it will help convince her to reach out and start petting Wayne, soon the petting and the soft sound of the television are lulling him to sleep. He doesn’t realize, of course, until he feels a little hand patting his face.

“I’m awake,” he mumbles and blinks several times. Sam laughs at him, and Blaine guesses he’s rolling his eyes at him.

“Dude, why don’t you just call Kurt?” Sam asked, silently adding that the call would be asking Kurt if their home was in a state that they could return to.

Blaine debates the idea. If it were just him and Oliver, they would stay with Sam for the night and return the next day, giving Kurt enough time to recover. But now they have Riley and Blaine isn’t sure if she can handle sleeping away from her room now that she is used to it. Plus, Sam’s apartment is on the smaller size, and there is only one bedroom, and one sofa in the living room.

“If you don’t call him, I will.” Sam lightly threatens.

Blaine nods and pulls out his phone sending a quick text to Kurt, and he doesn’t have to wait long before Kurt replies that not everything is away, but it’s clean enough to return.

Oliver begs to finish the episode before they head home, and there isn’t that much time left on it, so he allows it, giving him a few more minutes of catching up with Sam and allowing Riley to get more comfortable with him.

When he returns home, it’s dark and quiet. He doesn’t stop and look around before sending Oliver to bed and going through his nighttime routine with Riley. It takes a little longer, and she keeps trying to find Kurt since he usually is there helping put her to bed, but she eventually falls asleep. Blaine isn’t surprised that Kurt is still up and pacing. He knows Kurt will most likely not be able to sleep due to insomnia he gets when he’s overly stressed.

Blaine changes into his pajamas and gets ready for bed for addressing Kurt.

“Kurt,” Blaine gently says, worried about how long Kurt has been walking in that same spot. “Come to bed,” he instructs, taking his hands and guiding him to the bed.

Kurt takes a calming breath once he’s seating on the bed and Blaine watches him with wide eyes.

“They’re going to take her,” Kurt says after calming himself down.

Blaine doesn’t respond, but his eyes are starting to water.

“They called, we can no longer keep her, and there is nothing we can do because they already pulled strings for us to foster her.” Kurt spits out, angry and sad all at the same time. “I don’t know why I ever let myself think it could be permanent.”

“Don’t say that,” Blaine softly begs, his voice straining.

“It doesn’t matter what year it is, we will always be punished for what we are,” Kurt continues ignoring Blaine.

“Stop it,” Blaine begs again, shutting his eyes this time. It’s all too much to take in.

This time Kurt doesn’t continue. He’s not crying, and he isn’t angry anymore. Blaine is feeling so many things he doesn’t understand how Kurt can be like a robot in these moments.

“We have two wonderful children, and Riley is our third, we just have to-” Blaine starts but stops when Kurt shakes his head.

“I talked to the lawyer, the best we can do is visitation rights, but in cases like this the judge will more than likely find it best to place her with her mother,” Kurt explains, gently this time.

“We, we … We can,” Blaine stumbles over his words, but Kurt cuts him off again.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore. We only have a few days left to get everything in order and explain it to Riley.” Kurt says with finality, grabbing his pillow and leaving the room.

Blaine curls himself in a ball and eventually cries himself sleep. He hasn’t felt pain like this for a long time. He feels like a fool to believe she was their new child.

The next morning, he doesn’t feel any better, in fact, he feels worse. As he helps get Oliver ready and off for school he knows that he can tell something isn’t right.

“Dad, I love you,” Oliver says, giving him a tight hug before leaving.

Blaine knows he wasn’t even attempting to hide his feelings and with how distant Kurt is being he wouldn’t be surprised if Oliver assumed something was going on between them. He also knows Riley can tell something is off with them. She is overly behaved. Afraid her actions are going to get her into trouble or upset them further. Blaine forces himself to mask his feelings and decide not to tell her yet. He can’t. Part of him is hopeful that things will fix themselves and there will be no reason to have to tell her. He is still going to try to make phone calls and try everything he can to hold onto her. And he doesn’t want to scare or worry her, so he keeps the news to himself.

After getting dressed and ready for the day she looks so proud and happy in her new clothes. Blaine smiles brightly but notices her hair is still a long stringy mess on her head from the years of neglect.

“Riley, now that you picked out new clothes how would you feel about finding a new hairstyle?” Blaine asks carefully. “We can go find a book with pictures, and you can pick your favorite?”

She thinks about it carefully, and she looks hesitant, so Blaine clarifies a little by showing her a video of what he means.

“It won’t hurt, and Kurt will do it for you if you ask nicely.”

It doesn’t take any more convincing, and it’s like that they are out the door looking for the perfect haircut. Blaine figures it also won’t hurt to give Kurt more cooling off time. Eventually, they return with a picture and Blaine has to confront Kurt for the first time since they spoke the night before.

“It’s close to how you have your hair, so it won’t be too difficult to-” Blaine begins to explain and plead after Kurt already shoots down the idea.

“Blaine, I said no,” Kurt says, staying firm. “Why are you doing this? You know we have to let her go?”

“I love her, Kurt.” Blaine begins his emotions getting better of him again. “I know you love her too and that’s why you are acting like this.”

“Blaine, we can’t keep doing this,” Kurt says defeated, finally giving Blaine full attention and sitting next to him on their bed.

“We promised her that no matter what happens we will always love her, and that’s what I intend to do.” This time it’s Blaine being stubborn. He knows how much Kurt guards his heart and doesn’t want to set up himself to be hurt, but no matter where Riley this Blaine will never stop feeling like she belongs with them.

Kurt sighs but doesn’t say anything. He goes into their master bathroom to grab his hair styling kit, which includes a cape, scissors, and a comb and walks out of their room without any other word. Blaine knows that this is how Kurt deals with pain, blocking himself off and becoming distant, so this is a big step for Kurt to take. Before he follows Kurt to take a ton of pictures to document the memory of Riley’s first haircut he makes sure to splash some water on his face and erase all evidence of his tears.

He can tell she is nervous, but Kurt just softly sings to her as he combs out her wet hair gently, and once Blaine believes that he has control over his emotions he joins in and harmonizes. Kurt had already snapped a before picture of her hair. The stringy, tangled, mess that was some of the last evidence of years of abuse and neglect. She still has a few scars from burns and cuts and bruises, but her weight and size are closer to what it should be, and she no longer has the dark circles around her eyes. Soon her nerves are gone as she realizes that it doesn’t hurt. She tenses up again when Kurt pulls out the blow dryer, the noise apparently frightening her the most, so Blaine gives his camera phone a break and holds her hand through the process. Her hair is so thin it doesn’t take long at all to dry it. When her hair is finished, they snap a quick picture of the three of them together. The cut is very similar to how Kurt used to wear his hair after high school, except thinner and less full. Blaine’s afraid this will be their last moment of happiness for her and them, but he refuses to think that way. 

The next few days go a blur and Blaine finds every excuse he can not to tell her or Oliver what is going to happen. In his defense, he believes he will find a way to keep her in their family, but he runs out of time to find a solution. They called and scheduled to pick her up later in the morning, and that’s when Kurt takes the responsibility of packing up and telling her what is happening.

“Riley, Angel” he starts, already taking deep breaths. “We have something we have to tell you, and it’s not easy.”

Blaine is already crying and doesn’t want to be in the room to hear this, to do this to her.

“It’s complicated and hard to explain, but remember we love you very much and it’s the last thing we want,” Kurt continues with no support from Blaine. “They found your real mom, not …” he has to stop to try to keep his own emotions from affecting his voice. “Not the people you were with before, but the woman who gave birth to you.”

“No,” she says. It isn’t loud, but it’s a shock to them both since she has never directly spoken before.

“No!” She says again louder and firmer. Soon she is screaming it and hitting Kurt.

All Kurt does is grab and hold her into a tight hug, silently apologizing. By now everyone, including Riley, is crying. She eventually stops hitting and pushing and gives into Kurt’s hug.

“We love you so much,” Kurt whispers, not letting her go. “You will always have a home here, and we don’t want to let you go, but we don’t have a choice.”

Kurt then puts her down to begin packing her stuff up for her to take. She screams, tears and snot running down her face and quickly unpacks everything he packs.

“Riley, stop,” Kurt says with no fight or hardness. He blinks away several tears and turns to Blaine. “Please,” he begs to Blaine.

Blaine doesn’t hesitate, he just comes in and picks her up and takes her out of the room so Kurt can get the packing down. He makes sure to grab her beloved rabbit for her before heading into the living room to try to calm her down. She fights back and tries to go back to her room to stop Kurt, but Blaine keeps her there. She ends up wearing herself out and only stops when she falls asleep.

By this time Kurt is bringing out the boxes of her stuff to pile up in the entryway for them to take. It’s not all since they know she cannot take everything, but it’s her toys and clothes and books. At this point Oliver walks in the door, coming home from school.

“What’s going on?” he asks nervously.

“Ollie, baby,” Kurt starts, his voice tired.

It clicks without any explanation. “No, no you can’t let them take her!” Oliver begs and fights.

“We don’t have a choice,” Kurt explains as Blaine starts crying all over again. Kurt tries to comfort Oliver and pull him into a hug, but he backs away shaking his head, tears forming in his eyes.

“No, no” he cries out in a similar way that Riley had. “I will never forgive you for this!” And with that he runs off to his room, slamming his door shut.

“This isn’t right,” Blaine says softly, after the deafening silence that came after the loud slam of Oliver’s bedroom door.

“Don’t make this harder than it already is. I need your support with this Blaine. I’m not the bad guy in this situation.” Kurt snaps, his anger returning. “I tried to stop this, I tried to fight for her, but we don’t have a choice.”

Blaine wants to fight back, but he’s too tired from his emotions. In his mind, he knows Kurt is right, but his heart is hurting. He shouldn’t blame Kurt, Kurt is only doing what they have to, but he just can’t give in. It’s the same as if they said they wanted to take Sophie and Oliver with them too suddenly. Riley may not have been here as long but he loves her the same way he loves his other two children, and he will fight every step of the way, even if he has to fight Kurt over this.

“You’re not going to help me,” Kurt states.

Blaine doesn’t respond, and he looks away from Kurt’s glare.

“Fine, go ahead and hate me too,” Kurt snaps leaving Blaine to sit there in his silence.

He should go after Kurt and apologize, especially since he knows he’s in the wrong, but he chooses to stay on the sofa by Riley’s side.

The next morning, when they come pick her up, is only worse. Kurt and Blaine make sure she has their phone number, but her fit doesn’t end enough to them to say goodbye. When she’s gone, and Blaine’s a mess, despite the remaining anger between the two Kurt pulls Blaine close and whispers “We’ll get her back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not claim to know about the actual laws that deal with situations like this. It is merely used as fiction and to create a situation for the story. It's not fact. It's fiction.


	16. Chapter 16

Their home feels so cold and empty now. It's quiet and dark since both Blaine and Kurt bury themselves in their work and Oliver hides in his room, still refusing to speak to either one of them. They eat dinner separately and only see each other in passing.

Blaine comes into the bedroom as Kurt finishes his morning routine, it's awkward being the same room. Kurt started to sleep in the guest room, and sometimes even Riley's room. It's beginning to feel like Kurt is avoiding him, though Blaine can understand if he was.

"I'm thinking of seeing if we can visit her today," Blaine says, sitting on the edge bed.

Kurt only hums in response and continues ironing his shirt.

"Maybe we can go after you get home from work and stop for dinner on the way home if we can't have it with her?" Blaine hopefully asks.

"I have to work late today," Kurt shortly answers, not looking up the shirt.

Blaine takes a breath as the words physically sting him. After Oliver was born Kurt started working late and drifting away from Blaine. It caused some significant problems in their marriage, and after counseling, Kurt agreed to do everything he could not to work late anymore.

"I thought we agreed you weren't going to work that much anymore," Blaine reminds him, his voice shaking.

"That was before," Kurt answers, "Sophie is at college now, and Ollie is in high school. I'm not needed as much around here."

"I need you" Blaine breathes.

"Only when you need someone else to be the bad guy" Kurt snaps at him, slamming the iron down.

Blaine doesn't say anything. He deserves that, and he hates that he did that to Kurt, especially when they agreed they would stand by each other on every decision. Blaine used to be the mean parent in the past. He was home all the time with them, and Kurt was working a lot, so Blaine usually had to do the punishing, but Kurt always stood by him.

"I'm going to be late for work, feel free to eat without me," Kurt mumbles and pushes past Blaine after he puts his shirt on and pushes past Blaine.

Then Blaine is alone again. He hasn't felt this lonely and heartbroken in a long time. His first instinct is to just crawl back into bed and hide from the world, but he pushes forward. He decides before visiting he should bake some of her favorite muffins to bring her.

When he gets to the address, the lawyer provided he knows he should have called first. Until the state is finished their evaluation on the mother Riley is to stay in a foster home. It's a nice house with a yard littered with toys. Blaine takes a deep breath and knocks firmly on the door plastering a smile on his face. A woman that's only a few years older than he answers the door.

"You must be Blaine," She says smiling gently at him. "The lawyer told me you might drop by."

"Uh yes," Blaine dumbly answers.

She sighs lightly and shuts the door behind her. "I'm sorry, but this isn't a good time."

"Maybe I can help," Blaine offers.

"No, I don't think that will be the best idea." She answers shaking her head and crossing her arms.

"I can calm her down" Blaine tries again, his voice growing more desperate.

"If I let you in that will betray her trust in me. She doesn't want to see you." She answers more aggressively, as she backs into the house. "You need to think about what's doing right for her."

Then Blaine is left there alone on the front porch with a basket of muffins. Something in him wants to just burst into the house and take her from this place and back where he belongs, but he knows that will only create more problems.

He doesn't go home right away. There isn't anything for him there. Instead, he goes to the park and feeds some of the muffins to the birds as he watches people, families go by. Only a few people bother him and ask if he's the Blaine Anderson, usually, Blaine doesn't mind giving fans a little of his time, but he just tells them they are mistaken. He isn't in the mood to make small talk. It makes him question if he should go back to music to distract his mind and keep busy. He makes a quick mental note to call his agent and set up a meeting. He wonders how he got here and how he let himself become so attached to Riley. He knew from the beginning to be careful with getting comfortable with having her in the family, but somewhere he chiseled a permeant residence in his heart for her. He feels guilty for allowing the same to happen with Kurt and Oliver. He should protect his family, and he just let everyone gets hurt. He feels guilty over making promises he should have known he couldn't keep. He replays everything out in his mind trying to figure out where he messed up.

When only a few muffins are left he decides it's time to go home. He really should be there when Oliver gets home from school, even if he doesn't talk to Blaine he will at least have the comfort that Blaine is there with him when he needs.

Blaine gets home with a little less than an hour before Oliver is supposed to be home from school. There isn't much to do. He's cleaned the house every day as a distraction when he feels motivated enough to leave his bed or the couch. He looks in the fridge trying to decide what to make for dinner. They have been living on take out for a while, and before that, they ate according to Riley's diet. The easy route would be to order out again, but he feels terrible doing that to Oliver. He wishes he had everything to make Oliver's favorite meal, but he'll have to go grocery shopping to do that, and he doesn't have the time.

As he is rummaging through the fridge, he hears the door open and close.

"Ollie, how do you feel about chicken and penne pasta for dinner tonight?" He called out.

When he doesn't get a response, he closes the fridge and lets himself into Oliver's bedroom where he just slammed the door shut.

"Did you hear me?" Blaine asked with more snap in his voice than he intended to be here.

"I'm not hungry," Oliver mumbled keeping his face turned away from Blaine.

"Ollie, you need to eat," Blaine said a little more sympathetic. "I know you're still mad at your Papa and me, but going on a hunger strike is not an option."

Blaine waited for a response, but all he got was a little hitch in his breath.

"Oh Ollie," Blaine sighed pulling him in for a tight hug and letting him cry.

"No, I hate you!" Oliver screamed pushing Blaine away.

"I'm just trying to help you," Blaine explained keeping the distance Oliver requested.

"Well don't" Oliver spit out in between his sobs. He took a couple deep breathes before adding, "I'm not going back to that school!"

"Ollie, what happened at school?" Blaine tried asking.

"It doesn't matter I'm not going back," Oliver cried sitting on his bed.

"Okay, I won't make you go back, but I'm going to eventually need you to talk to me or your Papa about it," Blaine explains as calmly as he can. "I'll call them tomorrow and explain you need some time off and we'll go from there."

"Can you just leave me alone" Oliver begged, turning to face away from Blaine again.

"Okay, but I want the door to stay open" Blaine answers firmly before walking out.

He should go back into the kitchen and start dinner, but he opts to go to his office. He closes the door quietly behind him. He sits on the piano bench and takes a couple of deep breathes. He intends to play, but all that comes out is a broken sob. His entire family is falling apart around him, and he doesn't know what to do or how to fix this. He thought Oliver was mostly distraught over Riley leaving, but now something more significant is happening, and he can't get him to open up to anyone. Kurt won't even talk to him, and if he does it's cold and unforgiving, which Blaine knows he deserves, but he also needs Kurt's comfort right now and he is sure Kurt needs his comfort if he would let him.

Blaine continues to blink back his tears and hugs his arms tight around himself. He knows he falling into a deep hole that he won't be able to pull himself out of without help, but he can't stop himself from thinking of all the times he's felt pain in his life.

When Kurt gets home, he is still in the same spot. Kurt doesn't call out or acknowledge that he is home, but Blaine hears the door open and close. He goes out in the hallway, waiting for him hoping to get some acknowledgment from Kurt. He knows Kurt's routine so well he can picture Kurt taking off his shoes, putting away his keys and shuffling through the mail. He knows Kurt will come back to the bedroom to change out of his work clothes and into his around the house wear.

"Kurt," Blaine whispers as Kurt passes him the hall.

"I told you not to wait up for me," Kurt answers, not stopping.

Blaine follows closely behind, "you said you would be home late, but you're not."

"No, they sent me home," Kurt responds with an annoyed tone and Blaine isn't sure if the tone is towards Kurt's boss or him. Kurt continues into the bedroom still not giving Blaine his attention.

"I went to go see Riley today," Blaine says sadly, sitting on the bed and watching Kurt.

He doesn't get any response, so he decides to continue. "The foster mother wouldn't let me see her. Something about gaining her trust and seeing me would get her too worked up."

"What did you think would happen?" Kurt asks sarcastically. "Maybe it's for the best anyway."

"Don't say that," Blaine whispers, hurt.

"It's true Blaine, we already had to give her up, and we'll have to let her go eventually," Kurt turns and yells, looking at Blaine for the first time.

"Why are you so ready to give up?" Blaine yells back, tears in his eyes. "Why aren't you fighting for her? It's like you're okay with her being gone."

"You really believe that don't you," Kurt hisses crossing his arms.

"Maybe you're so ready to "let her go" because you weren't ready for the possibility of her wanting to transition. Maybe that was too much for you handle," Blaine accuses.

"And then I just called her birth mother to tell her where to find her?" Kurt counters. "Blaine, I know in your mind I'm the bad guy, but I'm your husband, I am on your side even if you don't believe it."

"Maybe if you were here for me or talked to me," Blaine begs now, all his emotions in his voice.

Kurt sighs a little and looks down a little guilty. "I'm going to sleep in the guest room. Don't worry about dinner."

He grabs his pillow and pajamas, refusing again to look at Blaine and leaves the room. Blaine feels like he is going to crumble and fall apart at any second, but he doesn't. He curls up on his bed, their bed, and holds himself. For some reason, he can't cry. Maybe he's too angry, or he's used all his tears. Maybe he's just dehydrated.

The next morning follows the same routine of everyone avoiding each other and not talking. Kurt is again ironing his work clothes, not looking at Blaine as he sits and waits for Kurt.

"I'm going to try to Riley again today. Maybe we can together after Ollie is done school and you're done work," Blaine asks again, no longer hopeful Kurt will even say yes.

"You were turned away last time, what makes you think this time will be any different?" Kurt asks coldly, ignoring Blaine's invitation.

"I don't want to fight with you," Blaine says through a shaky breath. He's so tired of fighting and hurting.

Kurt stops ironing but doesn't say anything, Blaine takes it as an invitation to continue.

"I really need you Kurt, and I know you're hurting too. We can't keep doing this." Blaine begs, tears forming.

Kurt waits but finally, gives in and moves to pull Blaine into a tight hug letting him cry, his tears finally pouring out.

"I'll see what time I can get off from work, and we will focus on helping Oliver, maybe send him back to therapy. We can try to visit again, but she didn't want to see you last time, so I doubt she will want to see us now." Kurt says calmly once Blaine is done with his emotional outburst.

"We just need to explain to her what happened, and hopefully with time both her and Oliver will understand," Blaine adds optimistically.

They stay there for a while, Blaine resting his head on Kurt's shoulder and Kurt holding him close like he needs.

"I'm sorry for pushing you away," Kurt whispers.

"I know it's how you cope," Blaine shrugs it off, pretending it doesn't hurt him as much as it does.

"It might be, but you also needed me. We're in this together Blaine, but I was hurt and angry." Kurt continues to apologize, not letting Blaine pass over the subject. They've made mistakes here before, and neither one wants to let it happen again. "It was so hard for me to be the one who had to gather her things and share the bad news. I was hurting, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"Kurt," Blaine breathes pulling away, "I shouldn't have let you do that alone. I guess I deserved you shutting me out."

Blaine wants to continue with his apology, but Kurt's mouth is on his before he can even think of how to explain what happened.

"You never deserve to feel hurt and alone," Kurt explains when he pulls away.

"You know," Blaine hums, tracing the lines of Kurt's collarbone and placing light kisses on his neck, "we haven't done the make-up sex thing in a long time, maybe we could play hooky from work and spend all day in bed?"

"Oh no! I have a big work day ahead of me, and If I am going to ask for time off, I will need to put some time in," Kurt responds pushing Blaine off him and going back to his ironing.

"Big day doing what?" Blaine asks pouting a little bit at being shut down.

"I'm meeting with an editor about writing an autobiography and then a producer about my musical." Kurt brags.

"Kurt, that's amazing!" Blaine congratulates with joy.

"They're just meetings, so I'm not getting too excited just yet," Kurt explains, telling Blaine not to be too optimistic. "Maybe you should go back to music to help you get through this. You used to always turn to music."

"I tried yesterday, but" Blaine trails off shrugging.

"Maybe we both need to go back to therapy a little bit, work through what's been happening," Kurt suggests.

Blaine nods in agreement, feeling his hope come back. At least he knows everything with Kurt will be okay and eventually, they will work through whatever is going on between them.


	17. Chapter 17

Blaine is nervous. He knows he shouldn't be; he and Kurt have been married forever now. They have seen each other at their worst and best on multiple occasions, and there is nothing new to this situation they are in as a couple. Despite this, Blaine is nervous. It's been almost a week since Blaine broke down and they stopped fighting. They have set up a schedule with their therapists as well as a plan to begin couples therapy. They're both working to make this better, to make them better. The date was Kurt's idea, as a way to mix up their routine. He wanted to meet there to make it feel more like a date.   
Blaine enters the small bistro and instantly spots Kurt, his heart skipping a beat. Kurt is wearing a new outfit that Blaine has never seen before. It's somewhere in-between the casual attire he had gotten used to wearing at home and the dressed-up attire he wears to work. Blane has always known Kurt was beautiful, Blaine witnesses his beauty every day, but this new outfit makes Blaine stop for a second. He feels silly wearing something Kurt has seen on him a million times and has washed, folded, and even ironed for him. He watches Kurt's smile grow as Blaine approaches.   
"I didn't realize I was late," Blaine apologizes first.   
"You're not," Kurt explains, "I got here ridiculously early, so there would be no confusion about my intentions."  
"Kurt," Blaine whispers wanting to reach out and hug him. "It was your dad, I've forgiven you for it."   
"I know," Kurt waves off, making Blaine frown. He hates when Kurt dismisses his feelings as silly.   
"How about we get a table?" Blaine asks with a smile not waiting for an answer before he requests a table for two.   
They are seated quickly at a small table by the window, and it doesn't take too long for them to order, especially since talking seems awkward and difficult for them to do right now.   
"Is Oliver home alone?" Kurt asks after the waiter takes their menus.   
"No, I asked Sam to stay with him. I know he's old enough to stay alone, but he hasn't been himself lately, and I don't want him to be alone," Blaine answers, a sinking feeling forming in his heart at the thought of what their son may be experiencing.   
"We'll figure it out," Kurt says trying to soothe his nerves. Blaine can only smile in response.   
"Maybe we all need a break, go away somewhere on vacation for a little while?" Kurt suggests when Blaine doesn't answer.  
"You know we can't," Blaine frowns, Riley might not be in their custody, but they're still trying to win her back, at least Blaine still wants her back. "We have to be ready- "   
"We need to do what's best for our family," Kurt snaps, cutting Blaine off. And it's all it takes for them to start fighting again.   
"She is our family, Kurt" Blaine challenges because no matter how short of time she had with them Blaine will always feel like she is family.   
"Oliver needs us right now, we can't keep putting all our focus onto Riley, especially when she is no longer with us at the moment," Kurt hisses, suddenly aware they're in public and doesn't want everyone to hear them.   
"I'm not saying to abandon Oliver, I'm just saying we need to stay here and be ready," Blaine defends. "I thought you were with me on this."   
"Can we not do this now? We're supposed to be on a date." Kurt says after taking a sip of his drink, avoiding eye contact.   
"Yeah, we'll just talk about something else," Blaine suggests knowing they shouldn't ignore the problem in front of them.   
They both sit in silence waiting for the other one to come up with a new topic. It worries Blaine that they can't even think of something to talk about as a married couple. They know everything about each other and have seen every possible side of each other. Blaine used to think that was a good thing, but now he's worried.   
"I'm sorry," Kurt whispers, looking at his hands in his lap. "I didn't mean to come here and fight with you; this is a date the first date we had in a very long time, and we should make the most of it." He reached across the table, offering his hand to Blaine. Without any hesitation, Blaine took it and held it softly.   
"Remember back in high school, right after we became boyfriends?" Blaine asked.   
"Of course, I do," Kurt said his smile reaching his eyes, something it hasn't done in a while.  
"It was like a month later, and we were doing homework in your bedroom, and I got upset because I never took you on a proper date. Do you remember what you said to me?" Blaine asked rubbing his thumb over Kurt's knuckles.   
"What does that have to do with your calculus?" Kurt answer confused, scrunching his face slightly.   
"No, after that," Blaine laughed shaking his head, "You told me you considered that valentine's day when I paid for your coffee our first date and that I just wasn't aware I was dating you."   
"I said that? Even after you sang to another guy and dated Rachel?" Kurt teased.   
"Hey, I'm trying to be sentimental, and we agreed never to bring up me dating Rachel again," Blaine whined. "What I'm trying to say is that even though we haven't had an official date, I have considered the nights that we sit and talk when the kids are asleep or just enjoy each other's company kind of like dates. I enjoy every moment I have with you, Kurt."  
"Except when I get in this headspace and fight with you," Kurt answered, finally pulling away from his hand and looking down.   
"Enjoy, might not be that right word for what I feel, but I'm glad it's me getting to fight with you and not some other guy," Blaine says after some thought, trying to make Kurt feel better. He gets a small sympathetic smile out of it.   
"There never was another guy," Kurt responds looking surprised at the comment.   
Blaine looks down shyly and nervous for a moment.   
"You cannot honestly tell me you thought there was another guy?" Kurt asks carefully, more surprised than suspicious.   
Blaine decides the best answer is a simple shrug because maybe he felt like the guys Kurt dated weren't going to last because he knew Kurt. But he was more worried Kurt wouldn't find his way back to Blaine and move on from him.   
Thankfully their meal arrives after that, and the food is enough to distract Kurt from the conversation.   
They eat in peace, complimenting their meals. Blaine shares a little bit of his steak despite Kurt refusing to share fish. When asked if they want dessert Kurt declines, and Blaine knows he's starting to worry about his diet, with heart conditions running in his family, but he still orders Kurt a slice of their cheesecake to go. Blaine takes the bill, telling Kurt he has it, and even though they share finances, Kurt still blushes and looks down.   
When they arrive home, the lights are still on inside the house. Blaine waits for Kurt to open the door but he stops and turns to Blaine.   
"Something wrong?" He asks.   
"I love you," Kurt says suddenly.   
"I love you too, Kurt" Blaine answers leaning in to give Kurt a quick kiss.   
"No, wait" Kurt stops him. "I need you to know that I love you even when we fight and disagree."  
"I know you do. We're married." Blaine answers curiously.   
"I wanted to say it before we walked inside because that's when our date ends. And that's when I start to say it more out of habit and less out of meaning." Kurt explains, nervously biting his lip.   
This time when Blaine isn't stopped when leans in to kiss Kurt. "You always mean it, Kurt, even when you don't say it."   
Kurt gives one more quick kiss before opening the door.   
The mood immediately changes when they make their way into the rest of the house and find Sam and Oliver sitting in the living room waiting for them.   
"We need to talk," Sam says slowly to them after neither of them says something.   
"What is it?" Kurt says rushing over to Oliver worried something happened to him.   
Blaine takes the spot across from him waiting patiently for one of them to talk. He nervously watches as Oliver tries to start speaking. He begins to shake and cry when the words won't come out.   
"It's okay Ollie; they'll understand," Sam says.   
"Baby, we'll love you no matter what, you just need to tell us so we can help," Blaine tries moving to kneel in front of Oliver.   
"How about we try to guess, and you help us when we get close?" Kurt suggests when Oliver still doesn't say anything. He begins rubbing his back gently.   
Oliver nods in agreement, swallowing slowly.   
"Is it about school?" Blaine starts, trying to connect all the puzzle pieces Oliver has left for them with his mood changes.   
"Kinda" he answers in a shaky voice.   
"Does it have to do with that party?" Blaine tries again.   
This time Oliver nods, chocking on his tears. Kurt shushes him and starts doing everything he can to calm him down, stroking his hair and holding him close.   
"What happened?" Kurt asks in a whisper.   
This time Oliver slowly reveals his phone to them, and Blaine feels sick when he sees what they have done. Pictures and videos of the torment. Screenshots and recordings and links to the text messages, Facebook comments, and phone calls.   
"Matt's brother threw the party. We were only allowed to be there because Matt threatened to tell his parents. I told him I didn't want to be there, but he wanted to stay because there was this girl he liked." He took a shaky breath trying to calm his nerves before continuing. "I-I think she may be a junior."   
Blaine waited for his to continue but Kurt wasn't going to wait anymore. "It's okay, baby; keep going."   
"Everyone was drunk, and I was scared. She kept talking to me, but I didn't want to be there. She tried to give me something so I could relax and have fun, but I said no." Oliver's words were short and breathy. He stopped again when his tears got the better of him.   
Blaine's heart clenched tight at the sight of the pain Oliver was in just telling them what happened. "We can stop here if it's too much," Blaine gently offers as Kurt begins to shush his cries again.   
"We're here for you, just try to finish telling us what happened," Kurt says instead.   
"Kurt," Blaine says surprised.   
"No, we need to know so we can fix this!" Kurt insists.   
"It's fuzzy after that; I remember waking up in bed with her and Matt yelling at me and trying to fight me." Oliver forces the words out.   
"How did you get home? Remember you came home?" Kurt asks.   
"I don't know; I can't remember" Oliver cries out and Blaine can feel him shutting down. "I remember going to the hospital with you, but that's it."  
"Ollie, can you try to tell them what happened after, when you went back to school?" Sam tries gently.   
Blaine just wants all the pain to disappear. He hates watching Oliver feel any pain. He can't believe Oliver kept this quiet for so long.   
"Matt thinks I was flirting with her after he told me he liked her. It started small with him ignoring me and giving me glares anytime we saw each other, but it escalated from there. Then somehow they started dating, and it got so much worse." Oliver explains, tired now. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."   
"No, no" Blaine reaches out to comfort him trying to tell him it was all okay.   
"Ollie, we need all the documentation you have so I can go to the school with it," Kurt says, and Blaine can see he's trying to distance himself from the pain. Blaine knows it's bringing back painful memories.   
"I don't want to go back to that school, please don't make me go back," Ollie begs them.   
"You won't go back there, don't worry." Blaine soothes and kisses the top of his head.   
"We'll get you a new phone number and help you clean up your social media accounts," Kurt offers.   
Sam nodding in agreement.   
"Don't worry baby boy; we'll fix this. It's going to be okay," Kurt soothes again.  
They stay there in the silence for a while. Comforting and calming down Oliver. The reality of what has happened slowly setting in. When it's time for bed, Kurt ends up laying down with Oliver to help him try to fall asleep, leaving Sam and Blaine in the living room.   
"He didn't come out of his room, so I went to check on him, and I found him trying to hurt himself," Sam explains, sounding exhausted himself.   
"He's been hurting himself?" Blaine asked on the verge of a breakdown himself.   
"No, this would have been the first time, he was having trouble going through with it." Sam answers.  
Blaine can only nod in response, his thoughts and emotions working in overdrive.   
"He tried to make me leave, but I refused. I ended up telling him about what Kurt was going through in high school. I don't know everything, but I just explained that you both would understand and be able to help. I told him I would help. That we all love him and we are there for him. Eventually, I talked enough that he told me everything. I knew he had to tell you two. He was so scared to tell you, but I told him you needed to know." Sam continues to explain taking a deep breath after.   
"I knew something was wrong, but I just thought it was normal teenage hormones. I would never have thought." Blaine shakes his head unable to continue.   
"He didn't tell you, he hid everything. You can't blame yourself." Sam tries to comfort him.   
"I don't understand why he didn't come to us in the first place," Blaine says, confused and hurt.   
"Kurt didn't tell his dad anything. He didn't tell any of us," Sam answers.   
When Blaine doesn't respond Sam decides to continue, "There is no point in focusing on the why he didn't tell you. The point is he told you now, and you can fix it and help him."   
Something clicks in Blaine's thoughts, "You're right. Kurt was right."   
"Right about what?" Sam asks confused.   
"We should move out of the city," Blaine answers not hesitating to begin his research in finding the best private schools in the area and homes for sale near them.


	18. Chapter 18

"It's a terrible idea," Kurt bluntly states when Blaine brings up the idea of moving to him. It's been a couple of hours since they got Oliver to settle down and fall asleep finally and they both decided that with their new worry they won't be getting any sleep tonight.  
"What?" Blaine askes shocked. "You just had that idea a couple of weeks ago!"  
"Yes, and we agreed it was a terrible idea then. Besides, you just rejected my idea of going on vacation," Kurt reasons.   
"We can't keep him in that school and let him suffer," Blaine explains with sad eyes.   
"I agree," Kurt answers, biting his lip nervously and standing up to begin packing.   
"I guess you have a plan then?" Blaine asks crossing his arms and settling into the back of the couch.   
"Maybe, we should call you dad ask for help with getting into a private school," Kurt mumbles before trailing off.   
"That's a terrible idea" Blaine states blinking at Kurt in shock.   
"I know you and your dad don't talk that much, but we can't afford to put him through private school and pay for his room and boarding, and then pay for college" Kurt explains.   
"He'll want him to go to Dalton," Blaine says after thinking the idea through more.   
"It was a good school," Kurt adds with a hesitant smile.   
"It's too far," Blaine grumbles, hating the idea of Oliver not being home every night for dinner. He just lost Sophie to college and Riley to state laws. He refuses to lose Oliver too. "We'll move so he won't have to live there."   
"You want to move back to Ohio?" Kurt asks, his voice going up an octave.   
"New York state has some nice schools. It doesn't have to be Ohio," Blaine explains. "I'm not letting him go, Kurt. I already let him get hurt once it won't happen again."   
"Blaine, you didn't know. You did everything you could have done," Kurt reassures sitting back down and placing his hand gently on Blaine's shoulder. Blaine instead shrugs it off and moves away. He supposes this how Kurt feels when he wants his space.   
"I should have done more. I should have known what was happening to him," Blaine argues.   
"He didn't tell us, there was no way you could have known," Kurt tries to reason.   
"We shouldn't have left him tonight. He needed us" Blaine pouts, ignoring Kurt's attempts to calm him down.   
"Blaine, he wasn't alone. You had good instincts to have Sam here with him."   
"He was feeling alone, and we left him," Blaine adds to get the last word.   
"We can't do anything till we find out what he wants so let's try not to worry too much about it," Kurt says, his voice tightening, a clear sign he's beginning to get annoyed with Blaine.   
"I'm sorry, I'm being …" Blaine trails off shaking his head. "I just can't stop seeing all those comments and messages people sent him."   
"I know, if anyone knows how cruel people are, it's us" Kurt reminds him, trying to comfort him.   
"Which why we should have protected him," Blaine explains.   
"We can't do that forever. If we did, he would never find himself in this world" Kurt responds.   
Blaine fights to keep his mouth shut because he wants to argue with Kurt, but he doesn't want them to go through another fight.   
"How about, we go visit Riley tomorrow after we go talk to the school and our lawyer?" Kurt suggests, trying to cheer Blaine up.   
"You'll really go with me?" Blaine askes surprised.   
"I should have gone with you before," Kurt apologizes.   
Blaine nods and leans into Kurt's embrace.   
"Let's try to get some sleep," Kurt says gently, barely above a whisper, before guiding towards their room.   
The house is eerily silent the next morning. No one talks during breakfast, except for Kurt asking for copies of all the comments and texts and harassment Oliver faced. Blaine digs through their filed records looking for the medical bill from when Oliver went to the emergency room from being drugged.   
"Can I spend some time with Uncle Cooper?" it's the first they heard Oliver talk his last night and Blaine's heart breaks at his defeated and broken tone. It's quiet, and he doesn't look up from his omelet Blaine had made for him.   
"Cooper?" Blaine asks confused. He's surprised he didn't want to stay with Sam.  
"I just need to go away for a while," Oliver explains with a shrug.  
"I don't know baby," Kurt says, and Blaine knows he's worried Cooper won't handle the situation appropriately.   
"Yeah, I figured it was a silly idea."   
Blaine hates that he picked up that habit from Kurt. "No, it wasn't," he says firmly reaching over and patting his hand. "Maybe we can talk to Sam to go with you. It would make us more comfortable having your god-father with you and I know Sam would love to do all the touristy stuff with you when Cooper can't get off work." It's hard for Blaine to let him go, but he apparently doesn't want to be here or around them.   
At this suggestion Kurt decides to sit down and join the discussion, realizing it was a serious idea.   
"Yeah?" Oliver asks, surprised.   
"We can't say for sure yet, we still need to go talk to the lawyer and the school, and then discuss alternative schools for you, but once we have a plan, we can talk about you going on a trip." Kurt answers.   
"You're really not going to make me go back?" Oliver says unsurely.   
"Not if you don't feel safe there," Kurt explains. "We want you to be happy and safe. Both your dad I had our share of bullies, we both went to a private school for our safety."   
"Yeah, but didn't you go back?" Oliver asks.   
"Yes, I did, but only when I knew it was safe," Kurt answers honestly.  
"I never went back to my first school because it never changed, nothing had gotten better," Blaine begins. "Then I transferred to be with your Papa. It wasn't as safe as Dalton was, but it also wasn't an unhealthy environment."   
Blaine frowns slightly at hard it is to explain the differences to Oliver. If Oliver feels he has no friends there, as Blaine had at his first school, then he knows there will be no support when it was needed.   
"You want me to go to a private school?" Oliver asks, slight surprise in his voice.   
"We want you to go where you want to go, either a private school or another public school," Kurt answers before Blaine suggests moving to him.   
"You're not going to send me far away, are you?" this time his voice is nervous and shaky.   
"No, baby, I would never send you away," Blaine reassures, pulling him into a hug and ignoring the look Kurt was giving him.   
"We should get going," Kurt interrupts, clearing his voice. "Ollie, we're going to drop you off with Sam before we go see the lawyer and the school."   
Oliver nods and gets up to get his shoes and coat.   
Blaine looks at Kurt nervously, waiting for a lecture, but it never comes. 

It's not a good sign that their lawyer is nervous when they arrive. They thought for sure that Caitlyn would be pleased with a more straightforward case than their last one.   
"I'm not sure how you two got the news before I could contact you, but I'm glad you made it in quickly," she says as she escorts them into her office.   
"News?", "Contact us?" Kurt and Blaine answer at the same time.   
"This isn't about Riley?" She asks shocked and nervous.   
"This is about our son Oliver being bullied and harassed at school and online," Kurt answers handing over the folder he put together.   
"What about Riley?" Blaine asks hesitantly.   
She sighs and puts the folder on her desk before coming around and sitting on the corner closest to them, her head hung low and hands folded in her lap. Blaine feels like his heart is going to beat out of his chest, he quickly grabs and squeezes Kurt's hand before she can even get a word out.   
She swallows once before she begins. "Her birth mother came for a visit, and they both went missing. The foster family swears they never left the house, but when they went to check on her, they were gone."   
"They are doing everything they can to find her," she quickly reassures when there is no answer.   
This is it. This is what breaks Blaine. With tears in his eyes, he excuses himself to the restroom, feeling like he is going to be sick at any second. When he gets to the restroom, he feels his chest tighten, and his ears begin to ring. He quickly unties his bowtie and unbuttons his shirt, feeling like he is suffocating.   
"Blaine," Kurt says worried and out of breath from chasing him, "Why are you taking your clothes off?"   
"I-I-I" is all Blaine can stutter out, using the wall to balance himself.   
"Okay," Kurt says and immediately begins to hold him up. "You're having a panic attack, we'll get you some water, and a seat that isn't the bathroom floor."   
"Kurt," Blaine cries as soon as he tries to move him. He ends up burying his face in Kurt's chest, letting out uncontrollable sobs, and ends up pulling them both to the floor.   
"I know, I know," Kurt hums rubbing his back and kissing the top of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a couple more chapters left! Sorry, it takes me so long to update and finish this story. It's the longest I've ever written and I've got those pesky responsibilities that take time away from writing, like two jobs and socialization with loves ones. But despite that, I love writing these fanfictions. Also, I do take prompts over at http://bb-loves-boys.tumblr.com, but don't feel obligated to leave any. Just happy to be here and writing.


	19. Chapter 19

The school agrees to let Oliver finish the rest of year at home, without penalty. It's mostly to avoid the threat of Kurt going to the press about what happened in addition to a lawsuit. They haven't told Oliver yet about Riley missing, though he probably knows something is wrong because Blaine is shattered by the news. He barely gets dressed and pretty much sits watching the news all day with his phone in his hand, waiting for it to ring. 

 

Kurt forces himself to be the strong one out of the group and keep everything together. He forces the reassuring smiles on his face when they're needed and makes sure to handle everything with the lawyer. It lasts about two weeks, and then he decides Blaine needs to start living again. It's late, Oliver is already asleep, and Blaine is still sitting there with the television on when Kurt hands him his therapist's card. 

"Your son and family need you," is all he says. His voice isn't harsh like Blaine probably deserves, but more understanding.   
Blaine blinks and nods once.   
"I'm going to sleep," Kurt says with a kiss to Blaine's temple before heading to their room.   
Blaine debates if he should call the emergency line listed on the card or wait until tomorrow morning to make an appointment.   
He puts both the card and phone on the coffee table and heads into the bathroom to splash some water on his face. He pauses when he looks in the mirror. He hasn't shaved since they got the news, and his hair looks grayer than he remembers it being. His eyes are dark from his lack sleep, and it reminds him how tired Riley looked when he first met her. He pushes the thought out of his head and washes up before getting ready for bed.   
He tries to sleep, but his mind won't settle down enough for him to fall asleep. Soon his tossing and turning wake Kurt, so he vacates the bed to allow him to get more sleep, especially since he is the only one functioning out of the group. 

Blaine is mindlessly flipping through the channels when he comes across one of Coopers television movies, he pauses thinking, and that's when he gets the idea.   
He jumps up with new energy and begins to clean himself up. He shaves, gels his hair back, and grabs a shirt from the wash to dress from the waist up.   
He tries to settle down his anxiety as he enters his and Kurt's dark bedroom, where Kurt is sound asleep. He bites his lip nervously and almost debates waking Kurt. 

"Kurt," he says softly shaking his shoulder lightly. He repeats it twice before Kurt stirs.   
"Blaine?" Kurt says, eyes barely open, and voice full of sleep.   
"I need you to get up and film me," Blaine answers not waiting for Kurt to wake up.   
Kurt grumbles and looks at the clock on his nightstand, "It's two thirty in the morning."   
"It won't take long," Blaine insists, bouncing from foot to foot.   
"Can't it wait till a decent hour?" Kurt begs, pulling the covers over his head in an attempt to ignore Blaine.   
"No, I need you do it now." Blaine knows he sounds like a child.   
Kurt lets out a loud aggravated sigh and gets out of bed following Blaine into his office.   
"Okay," Kurt says yawning, "What am I filming?"  
"I want to play a song," Blaine says looking for his sheet music, reading over it one last time, making some last-minute edits.   
"The one no one, including me, has heard before?" Kurt asks a little more awake.   
"Yeah, it needs to be heard," Blaine answers getting ready at his piano.   
Kurt waits for Blaine's signal before recording. It feels good to play again, to let this emotion out of him. He knows he hasn't played in a while, but it still feels like he's always done it. It's comforting. When he finishes singing, he and Kurt both need a tissue to wipes their tears.   
"You shaved," Kurt says after he dries his eyes.   
"uh yeah," Blaine says, mostly concentrating on sending the video to his agent before posting it on social media.   
"Blaine," Kurt says trying to get his full attention. "What are you doing?"   
"I'm working on finding and getting Riley back," Blaine answers.   
Kurt just watches him with an expression that Blaine can't entirely read.   
"Are you sure about this?" Kurt asks.   
Blaine first instinct is to accuse Kurt he doesn't want Riley, but he knows it's not true that Kurt is only looking out for him.   
"It's time for you to take a break," Blaine says slowly.   
"Being a stay at home dad is not a break," Kurt corrects.   
"It's the only way I thought of getting her back. I release an album or at least a few songs, and then I put an alert out, and everyone will be looking for her. I can get Cooper to do the same, and he probably knows some people who will also help," Blaine explains, knowing he probably sounds crazy.   
"I'm not sure if this is the best reason to go back into the music world, but if it's what you want then I will support you," Kurt says taking both Blaine's hands in his own and giving them a light kiss.   
"I just want her back home, with her family, where she belongs," Blaine answers, not listening to Kurt fully.   
"Okay, well let's try to get some sleep so we can try to function tomorrow," Kurt says, realizing trying to reason with Blaine will be a wasted effort.   
"I want to stay and work on my music for a little bit," Blaine says turning back to his folders of sheet music.   
"No, no, no I will not let you go into that spiral without sleep and food," Kurt orders, pulling Blaine out of his office and making him try to sleep.   
"Kurt," Blaine tries to argue, but shushes him again and forces him to lay down.   
Kurt then settles in and cuddles close to him, hugging him tightly and placing his head on Blaine's chest.   
"What are you doing?" Blaine asks amusedly.   
"Cuddling you, so you fall asleep and don't get back up," Kurt explains. "Now, stop talking."   
"Kurt this isn't," Blaine starts but is interrupted by Kurt's shushing again.   
"I'm sleeping," Kurt whines. 

Blaine doesn't say anything, knowing there is no room for argument, so he just lays there with Kurt, stroking Kurt's hair. It takes no time for Kurt to fall back to sleep, but Blaine's brain won't settle enough for him to sleep. Blaine debates on trying to get back up but he knows Kurt is a light sleeper, and waking him up a second time will not end well for him. So, he stays put and lets his mind wander to places it shouldn't, like where Riley might be, like Oliver almost hurting himself, like Kurt leaving him and taking Oliver if he can't pull himself together.   
He feels Kurt pull at his shirt and kick him swiftly in the shins as if he is somehow able to read his thoughts. He gives Kurt an annoyed look until he hears him whispering no, then he just gives him a gentle kiss on the temple and holds him tightly, sighing as their closeness puts him at ease. 

He knows restarting his music career to get attention and find Riley isn't the best decision he has made, but he knows it will help and he needs to be proactive and stop waiting. He reasons with himself that Kurt has wanted him to go back and that he does miss his music, and they could use the extra money if they are going to send Oliver to a private school. 

 

Blaine sleeps for maybe three hours, but he is up in an instant when he hears his cell phone ringing. He accidentally wakes Kurt in his haste to get it and quickly apologizes as he hears his better half grumble angrily at being tossed aside.   
"Hello," he says breathlessly, not even checking whose number had shown up on the caller ID.   
"Dude!" Sam yells excitedly into the phone.   
"Oh, hey Sam," Blaine greets, not hiding his disappointment.   
"Dude," Sam repeats, this time offended.   
"Sorry, I was just hoping it was someone else," Blaine apologizes.   
"We'll talk about that in a second," Sam dismisses, wanting to cover his topic first, "Did you know you are trending?!"   
Blaine gets a sense of deja vu from when he first started his career. "I mean I hoped, eventually, I would be, but I didn't expect it to happen in a matter of hours."   
"You didn't even explain anything … you just put it out there," Sam says.   
"I don't know anything, I haven't even talked to my agent, I just needed it out there" Blaine tries explaining without sharing too much information behind his thinking. "Not that I don't appreciate the phone call, but it is still early, and Oliver and Kurt are still asleep … so," Blaine hints trying to get Sam off the phone before he can ask more questions.   
"Oh right, sorry. We'll just meet up later for me to get details," Sam says in a whisper like if he's quiet, Kurt and Oliver won't hear him."   
"I promise to give you more details when I get them," Blaine assures before saying his goodbyes and hanging up. 

He quickly then checks his social media accounts, and sure enough, his video is everywhere. It makes him feel guilty that it was so easy to get back out there. He thought it would take a lot more effort and pushing. He fears that Kurt's jealousy is going to come out again after he's been turned away and told everything is wrong with him for every part he tries.   
That's when he gets his next idea. He rushes back into the bedroom to wake Kurt and tell him about his plan. He forgets how early it still is, that Kurt has only slept a little longer than Blaine, and that Kurt is never in a good mood when he gets anything less than eight hours of sleep. 

"No, no, no, no" Kurt cries, burying his head under the pillow when Blaine tries to wake him up again.   
"Come on, honey, I need you to hear my idea," Blaine pouts.   
"I'm sleeping, Blaine," Kurt mumbles, thoroughly annoyed with him now.   
"You can sleep later, we need to talk about it before my agent calls," Blaine explains, diving under the covers to look for Kurt.   
Kurt groans loudly and Blaine knows pushing further will only result in a death wish, so he lets Kurt sleep and little longer and heads into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. 

Blaine hasn't even measured out the coffee beans when an angry, sleep deprived, Kurt appears in the doorway.   
Blaine looks at him with an expression of surprise and questioning but doesn't say anything.   
"I can't sleep," Kurt groans. "You have me curious and you know I can't stand, not knowing something."  
"Kurt, I will do anything to make this up you," Blaine says rushing over to where Kurt is standing and holding his hands gently.   
"Anything?" Kurt asks slowly, raising an eyebrow and sly smile.   
"Anything," Blaine confirms his voice is becoming breathy when Kurt leans in to kiss behind his ear and nibbling his lobe lightly.   
"Clean the bathrooms and kitchen for six weeks of my choosing," Kurt whisper hotly in the ear.   
Blaine jerks back giving him a betrayed look, but he can tell Kurt isn't going to negotiate the deal.   
"fine," he pouts turning back to his coffee.   
"Now," Kurt says seriously, sitting at their small kitchen table and crossing one leg over the other, folding his hands together over his knee. "What is so important that you needed to wake me up to discuss with me?"   
Blaine sighs a little; he knows getting Kurt on board with the idea is going to be hard. "You, remember the video I posted last night?"   
Kurt nods, keep his face expressionless.   
"Well it's trending," Blaine says nervously, not sure how Kurt will react.   
Kurt's eyes widen comically before jumping up and hugging Blaine tightly, "That's wonderful!"   
"Wait," Kurt says pulling away enough to give him a confused look, "what does this have to do with me?"   
"I want to make a duet album with you," Blaine says sincerely, his eyes full of love for Kurt and how amazing he is.   
"Blaine," Kurt says with a sigh, taking a couple of steps backward. "You know we don't work well together."   
"We used to sing all the time together," Blaine quickly points out. "We can also include a few solo tracks from each of us."   
Kurt sits and looks thoughtfully at Blaine. He doesn't say anything, so he continues.   
"I'm not saying become singing partners or form a band. Just one album and then maybe do a few appearances with me if need be," Blaine further explains.   
"I'll think about it and give you my answer after you get some real sleep, see your therapist, and talk to your agent," Kurt suggests, "deal?"  
Blaine's first instinct is to apologize to Kurt for going into a downward spiral, but they agreed after they got married they wouldn't apologize for things like this, only fights with each other. They each understand by now sometimes it's uncontrollable.   
"Yeah, yeah, I'll set up a meeting today," Blaine promises, turning back to his coffee.   
"Blaine, I'm just worried about you," Kurt says sincerely. "You're rushing into things before we deal with everything else and I don't want that to be the reason you go back to work because once you officially begin, it's going to be a lot harder to get out of."   
Blaine knows Kurt's right, but he also wants this for them. He wants something good and optimistic in their lives.   
"I'll make the coffee and breakfast. You go call your therapist and get an appointment." Kurt decides, moving over to the cabinet to pull out a mixing bowl. "I'll get you when it's ready." 

Blaine's therapist makes room for Blaine to come in later that afternoon for a two-hour session. She seems to think he will need the extra time with her. Blaine takes his time getting ready to go, and rather than organize topics he wants to cover in his session he gets in contact with his agent, who loves the idea of making an album with Kurt. She immediately works out a timeline for Blaine to follow and produce the album as well as work on setting up appearances and interviews. 

 

On his way to his therapist's office, Blaine stops at an office supply store and picks out a couple of different notebooks, a plain leather one for himself, one with a modern design for Kurt, and one bound in a purple cover for them to share. He also grabs some more blank sheet music, a sketchbook for Kurt, knowing Kurt hasn't sketched in a while.   
The girl at the check-out counter is young. Her eyes go wide as he approaches and she giggles slightly, for no reason, but she's professional and rings up his items quickly. Blaine doesn't like to assume she has seen the video, he never wants to think it's because someone recognizes him that they act like that, but he decides he is allowed to be hopeful about it if only it will give himself better chances of finding Riley. 

 

His therapy session goes as well as he expected it to, she asks him some simple questions on how he is feeling, rating on a scale of one to ten on his feelings, and then they move onto to the more personal and difficult questions in the second hour. Blaine knows it takes time for progress to be made. He wishes he at least felt a little better after the session, but all he feels now is tired.   
"I want to see you every two weeks, for the next couple months, and we will go from there." She says opening her scheduling book to pick a few dates for their appointments. "I also want you to take home these pamphlets and read over them," she says after they made the next three appointments.   
Blaine scrunches his face, confused. There on the cover reads "finding the right prescription." They have never talked about medication before. "Medication?" he asks confused.   
"It's just an option to read about and look into, not something we have to do, but I want you to know about it before you decide you don't want it," She explains calmly. 

The whole way home Blaine feels like he is somehow removed, the idea of taking medication echoing in his head. It means he has an illness, which he never thought of his depression as. It was always manageable, at least most of the time.   
When he gets home he toes off his shoes and leaves the bag of notebooks next to them, he leaves his coat and keys in appropriate spots and ignores Kurt's question of how it went in favor of locking himself in his office.   
"Blaine?" Kurt asks through the door, knocking softly.   
Blaine knows he's worried, but he feels nervous and unsure of telling Kurt about the possibility of needing medication.  
"Blaine, whatever it is we'll get through this," Kurt reassures. "I love you, and will always love you."   
Blaine still doesn't say anything or move towards the door.   
"I think you would know that after I popped that pimple on your ass," Kurt tries to joke, but only sighs when he knows he didn't work.   
"Okay, well I'll be waiting here for you when you're ready," Kurt decides.   
Blaine hears a small thump that makes him think Kurt is now leaning on the door. It quiet for a moment and then he hears Kurt begin the opening lines of Adele's "Hello."   
Blaine assumes it's Kurt's way to lighten the mood, and he's almost mad that it works.   
He slowly opens the door, careful that Kurt is leaning on it.   
Kurt smiles reassuringly and instantly pulls him into a tight hug, "You don't have to talk about it. I just needed you to know I wasn't going to let you go that easily."   
"She gave me these to read," Blaine confesses handing Kurt the pamphlets.   
Kurt looks at them thoughtfully but doesn't say anything.  
"She didn't say I needed it, just that it was an option to look into," Blaine explains slowly, sitting down on the piano bench.   
"Okay," Kurt says slowly, "Okay."   
"Okay, what?" Blaine asks, patience thinning.   
"We take everything one step at a time. The house, Oliver's new school, the duet album, and this," Kurt explains. "We move and step forward as It comes to us. It's too much to do everything at once, but little by little we can do this Blaine."   
"You think so?" Blaine asks unsurely. "Maybe it's all too much."   
"We've handled a lot of stress before," Kurt reasons. "We just need to be careful and not rush things or do something before we're ready."   
"Like my album idea," Blaine mentions lowly.   
"It isn't a bad idea Blaine, and maybe the reason for doing it shouldn't be to get fame and find Riley, but if you think it will make you happy I am willing to try it. I'm just worried because in the past we have tried working together and it hasn't ended well," Kurt reasons, wincing at the memory.   
"That was a show last time, this, this is a music and music is a big part of us, our relationship, and our history," Blaine explains. "It's more than finding Riley. It's something that would mean a lot to me, even if we don't publish it."   
"Alright so we need to just get organized and make a plan," Kurt said looking around for paper and pen his eyes lighting up slightly, probably at the idea of color coding.   
"Hey," Blaine said grabbing Kurt's hand.   
"What?" Kurt started to say but was cut off with a kiss.   
"I love you," Blaine answers after he pulls away.   
Kurt just hums in response, giving Blaine a quick kiss before turning back to looking for a pad and pen.


	20. Chapter 20

It's a slow process getting the pieces of their lives back together. The regular therapy sessions help, and Blaine is optimistic that the possibility of medication will not come up again. He's managing now and functioning again. Working on a new album seems to be helping with the stress and grieving for both Blaine and Kurt, it's an outlet for them to put their emotions into. The album is a slow process, but it makes Blaine happy to work on music and to work with Kurt again feels like falling in love all over again. When Sophie was in elementary school, they were approached cautiously by her teacher and asked to help put on their play, and things ended up disastrous. After the trauma, Sophie suffered they agreed it would be best not to work on projects together. But, this album is new, no conflicting ideas or feelings, just them together, singing. Blaine has only teased about the album on interviews but hasn't right out announced it to his fans. He decides to introduce the project of finding Riley before announcing the album, so it doesn't seem like it's some press stunt, which it is.   
Blaine decides the project should be posted on his social media before he says it in an interview, so he leaves it to Kurt, who was always better with his words.   
"Blaine, I can't concentrate with you hovering over me like this," Kurt says his fingers freezing and waiting for Blaine to back away.   
"It has to be perfect," Blaine says, biting his lip. He moves from the back of the sofa in favor of throwing himself down onto it.   
"And you think the kids get their dramatics from me," Kurt mumbles, rolling his eyes at Blaine.   
"Don't tease me when I'm nervous," Blaine whines.   
"You know I want her back too," Kurt says softly, turning back to the phone in his hands. "I promise to let you review it when I finish it, and we agreed on the photos to post with it."   
It's quiet as Kurt works swiftly, typing away on Blaine's phone.   
"Are you still working?" Oliver asks stiffly, interrupt the silence.   
"We're never too busy for you," Blaine says sitting up and making space for Oliver on the sofa. "What's up baby?"   
"I just wanted to see what you were going to post," Oliver confesses sitting down in the spot Blaine made for him.   
They carefully told Oliver the news of Riley's disappearance, and it's only been recent since his rage has cooled down and he was speaking to them again.   
"If people would let me work it would be done already," Kurt says with false exasperation.   
"We're doing all we can, Ollie," Blaine says confidently. "We will find her and bring her home."   
"And what if they want to take her again?" Oliver asks worriedly.   
"We won't let them," Kurt says confidently.   
"You sure?" he asks again, venom in his voice.   
"I am making sure they won't be allowed to take her again," Kurt clarifies. "Once she is found she will legally be a part of this family."   
"As long as she wants to be," Blaine adds a nagging feeling that maybe Riley won't want to come back to them.   
"How about you two go make yourselves busy and let me work, and I'll find you when I'm finished?" Kurt suggests.   
"Come on, let's review those private school pamphlets again and narrow down more choices" Blaine suggests leading Oliver into his room where the pamphlets are scattered around his desk.   
Each one of their friends was quick to share their opinion about where Oliver should go. Rachel somehow got wind of the idea, Blaine assumes she heard it from someone Sam accidentally blabbed to, only sharing that they were looking at a new school for Oliver and nothing beyond that. She was the first to send over numerous preforming arts schools that Oliver was quick to turn down not liking the idea of having to perform in front of people.  
"I'm not exactly thrilled with you going somewhere far, but I understand if there is a school you really want to go-" Blaine starts, trying to organize the pamphlets.   
"Dad," Oliver interrupts looking shyly at the floor. "Can I ask a favor?"  
"Hey,' Blaine says worriedly sitting next to him and instantly pushing his hair out of his eyes. "You can ask me anything."   
"I don't want the song you used to sing to me on the album," Oliver says, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's silly, you don't even sing it to me anymore, but it's."  
"I understand," Blaine says, cutting Oliver off this time. "It's not silly at all. It's your special song so it would make sense for you not wanting us to share it. And I promise you we will not use it."   
"Okay," Oliver nods slowly. "Thank you."   
"You always come first Oliver, you and Sophie, never music" Blaine promises before realizing. "You're not used to me working, but I would never let my work get in the way of you."   
"I know, I just remember Papa was working a lot and you two fighting about it" Oliver shrugs.   
Blaine shushes and kisses the top of his head gently, "My job is to take care of you and Sophie. My music is just something extra I can drop at any time. If it makes you that uncomfortable, I can stop this album right now."   
"No, I want you to go back to work, you've been so happy to play music again, I just don't want you to forget me. Like send me away and then go on tour" Oliver explains with a shrug.   
"I'm sitting here begging you to stay in state so you can live at home and you're worried I want to leave you and go on tour?" Blaine smiles reassuring. "That will never happen. If I ever did go on tour, I would schedule it when you and your Papa could come with me. I couldn't do this music thing without either of you or Sophie."   
"Do you know when Sophie gets back from school?" Oliver asks, changing the subject quickly.   
"She'll be home in a couple of days, and most of her stuff is staying there in storage, so we don't have to move it again," Blaine explains.   
"What?" Blaine asks after noticing the expression on Oliver's face.   
"If we end up moving maybe look for a house with enough bathrooms for us to each get our own?" Oliver asks hopefully.   
"I think that can be arranged," Blaine laughs.   
"Alright you two, I think I have the perfect post" Kurt interrupts, entering the bedroom without knocking. "Want to take a look?"   
Blaine quickly takes the phone from Kurt and shares the screen with Oliver to take a look and read it over.   
The message is short and straightforward, with a link to a longer story about how they found her and instantly wanted her to be a part of their family. After reading Blaine took no hesitation to hit the post button and instantly pocked his phone after not wanting to sit around and wait for responses or reposts.   
"Now that, that is finished," Kurt says clapping his hands together, "how about we call Uncle Sam and see if he wants to grab dinner with us and discuss going to visit Uncle Cooper this summer?"   
"You're serious?" Oliver asks excitedly.   
"You've been showing improvement in your behavior, and you haven't let your school work suffer or slip up. I think we don't have any reason not to allow it," Kurt explains with a wide smile.   
It's nice to see Oliver happy and excited again. It's been such a long time since they've seen him happy.   
They settle on one of their favorite diners, well Oliver's favorite. Kurt, can't stand the feel of the greasy menu and believes that they are not following the satiation codes in the kitchen, but it's Oliver's favorite and Kurt is willing to sacrifice a lot for his children.   
"Kurt, could you at least wait to wipe everything until after the waitress leaves?" Blaine hisses under his breath, only slightly embarrassed that Kurt pulled out his wet wipes and started wiping down the table and menus when they were seated.   
"Here, Ollie wipe down your menu," Kurt says handing him a wipe.   
"It's fine Papa," Oliver mumbles.   
"Blaine, are we allowed to talk about the album or are you still superstitious about that stuff?" Sam asked allowing Kurt to take his menu and wipe it down quickly. Blaine figures Sam just got used to Kurt's habits when he lived with him for that little bit in high school.   
"I wasn't superstitious," Blaine argues.   
"Dude, you were one step away from making us take an oath on what not to do when there was the possibility of it hitting the top charts," Sam laughed not able to keep from teasing Blaine.   
Unfortunately, it was true. When Blaine made his last album, and there was word of it getting into the top five he was very superstitious about it.   
"That was a big-time album for me. This is just something I want to do to go back to music and share with Kurt," Blaine explains.   
"We should have a reunion concert!" Sam suggests excitedly, eyes wide.   
"No," Kurt says, instantly turning down his idea. "I am not young enough to deal with Rachel Berry diva fits, and everyone fighting and cheating on each other."   
Blaine still flinches at the word, but Kurt quickly grabs his hand and squeezes it reassuringly.   
"Right," Sam says before changing the subject, "So, Ollie, your dads tell me you want to go to California?"   
"Not for school, just for vacation. Visit with Uncle Cooper and get a break from here," Oliver explains.   
"Maybe we could look at some schools while we are there?" Sam suggests, but Blaine is already shaking his head before Oliver can even reply.   
"We're thinking of staying close, and I'm not ready to live that close to Cooper," Blaine answers for Oliver.   
Blaine looks over to give a reassuring smile to Oliver when he sees him begin to slump down in his seat.   
"Oliver, don't do that, there's probably chewed gum down there," Kurt chastises.   
But, Oliver isn't looking at them, he's looking past, so Blaine goes to turn around.   
"Dad!" Oliver whispers loudly.   
"What?" Blaine asks innocently before turning and looking. Sure, enough there is a group of kids about Oliver's age taking pictures of the table Blaine and his family are seated at with their phones.   
"Do you know them?" Blaine asks prompting Kurt to turn and look.   
"Those are the delinquents you skipped school with," Kurt points out.   
"Delinquents?" Blaine asks, trying his best not to laugh. "Really, Kurt?"   
"Well, that's what they are," Kurt responds trying to take the high road. "What would you call them?"   
"Calm down Officer Krupke," Sam says earning Blaine to get a warning look from Kurt like he was responsible for Sam's words and action.   
"do you want us to say something or leave?" Blaine asks softly.   
"No, no, I want to enjoy my food and not worry about them," Oliver says quietly still trying to hide.   
"So, Blaine what's with the video?" Sam asks, changing the subject.   
"Well um," Blaine starts knowing it more than likely won't sound right, "Riley went missing a couple of weeks ago."   
Sam face immediately fell, "Oh you guys, I'm so sorry."   
"So, I got this idea that if I went back to music and enough people hear me I can start a campaign to find her," Blaine continues to explain.   
"We're going to find her," Kurt reassures rubbing his hand over Blaine's shoulder.   
"And the album?" Sam asks after thanking the waitress for delivering their meals.   
"Something that is long overdue," Blaine answers stirring his soup to cool it off.   
"Is there going to be a tour this time?" Sam asks still trying to catch up on all the details.   
"Dad said I could go on it with him!" Oliver says with excitement, his mouth full of food.   
Blaine winces a little he hasn't fully brought up the idea of a tour to Kurt yet, but when he glances over, he sees Kurt smiling and listening.   
"I don't know if there will be, it depends on a lot of different things," Blaine starts to explain. "Right now, I just want to find Riley and bring her home."   
Sam nods and reaches across the table to grab one of Kurt's fries earing a piercing glare from Kurt. "Still got that thing about sharing food, Kurt?"   
Sometimes Blaine swears Sam pushes Kurt's buttons on purpose, but he also knows that Sam started to fill in Finn's shoes as a brother, it was just a natural thing for him to do.   
"If you wanted fries you should have ordered them," Kurt bites back moving his plate closer to himself and further from Sam while side eyeing Blaine.   
"You don't mind sharing food with Blaine," Sam points out eyeing the fries again.   
"Didn't," Blaine corrects. "When we were dating he didn't mind; something changed once I moved in with him."   
"I was trying to impress you," Kurt mumbles.   
"Papa won't even share his popcorn and soda when we go to the movies, we all have to have our own," Oliver adds in.   
"What is this an intervention?" Kurt pouts with a sour look on his face.   
"Aw, honey, we're just teasing," Blaine pacifies giving Kurt a quick kiss on the cheek. "I love your little quirks," he adds while attempting to take a fry from Kurt's plate, but only getting his hand smacked instead. 

The rest of the night goes by quickly, after dinner they run a few errands like stopping at the grocery store and such. Later that night Blaine and Kurt are relaxed in their bed, Kurt reading a magazine and Blaine making a few notes to the work he has already done on his album.   
"What are you really thinking?" Blaine asks out of nowhere, suddenly concerned that he and Kurt aren't on the same page.   
"That I might need glasses," Kurt says moving the magazine back to try to get a clearer vision of the words on the page.   
"No, I mean," Blaine starts taking the magazine out of Kurt's hands to get his full attention. "I mean about me going back to music?"   
"Is this you wanting me to be honest or be supportive?" Kurt asks, worried Blaine will be upset at his honesty.   
"I want your honesty," Blaine says undoubtedly.   
"I'm happy for you. I think you needed this. Music is such a big part of you Blaine that you've been ignoring for a while now," Kurt explains.   
"But," Blaine adds in when Kurt gets quiet and nervous.   
"But, I'm worried going back to get famous to find Riley isn't a smart move, people might be upset if you just quit after," Kurt confesses. "They'll feel used, and it won't end well."   
Blaine nods, he thought of this. "And if I didn't quit after we found her?"   
"What are you saying?" Kurt asks confused his head tilted to one side.   
"I'm saying. You mentioned before about us trading places. Me going back to work and you staying home," Blaine clarifies. He knows Kurt can't stay away from the spotlight for too long.   
"Would you be happy with that?" Kurt asks hesitantly.   
"I'm not sure, I want to go back to music, but I'll be hard for me to leave them home," Blaine rationalizes. "I want to have both, but I know I can't."   
"Why can't you?" Kurt asks, scrunching his face.   
"I'll be busy with a music career, at some point I will have to tour and make appearances," Blaine says with a shrug. "I won't be home a lot."   
"We would go with you on tour, at least when we're able to, and do most of your appearances here in New York," Kurt suggests. "You won't be alone doing all the work Blaine. We're a team. I'll be here working on my book I always wanted to write, and I'm sure my office job I have now with Vogue will allow me to work from home, I may have to take a pay cut and lower position than I have now but I can be home."  
Blaine takes a breath and smiles softly at Kurt, eyes full of love. "We're really going to do this."   
"We're going to try," Kurt clarifies giving Blaine a sweet kiss.


	21. Chapter 21

With Sophie home from school, everything feels weirdly normal. She and Blaine go running in the morning, now that she is three hours behind him she gets up at an hour Blaine’s body can handle. Blaine decides to tell her about everything when they take a short break to stretch a little before running back home. He tells her about Oliver, about Riley, about going back to music, about possibly moving. They started to look at houses directly outside of the city, nothing further than a train ride away. It’s a lot and Blaine is not quite sure how she is going to react. She’s quiet and doesn’t say anything.

“I know it’s a lot all at once,” Blaine apologizes.

She nods and lets out a huff. “How does Papa feel about everything? The moving? The music?”

“He’s been supportive and mostly agrees with everything. He’s hesitant about moving, but he likes the idea of being able to decorate,” Blaine answers. “Of, course you would still have a room with us, you will always have a home with us.”

“uh huh,” she says nervously.

Blaine can’t help the curious look that comes across his face.

“I’ve been dating someone for a while now,” She clarifies even though it only confuses Blaine more.

“Okay?” Blaine says slowly.

“It’s getting pretty serious, and he asked me to move in,” Sophie explains.

Blaine’s in shock. The last time she dated was in high school. He was the perfect first boyfriend any parent could wish for. They were together for almost four years and broke up after graduation, deciding that college was a time to move forward with their lives and date other people. She took the break up hard, which is why Blaine is shocked she is seeing someone already.

“He’s older than me, and we met when my dorm’s fire alarm went off the second week of the first semester,” she explains when Blaine doesn’t say anything. “We went out once as friends, but after that, we started dating. We just clicked right away.”

“And you want to move in with him?” Blaine asks, worried about the idea.

“He doesn’t live far off campus, more room to live in and for less. Plus, after I live there for a while I would get in-state tuition,” Sophie tries to justify.

“Your scholarships cover most of that anyway,” Blaine says, and it comes out a lot harsher than he intends it to be.

“Don’t judge until you meet him, I invited him to visit so he could meet both you and Papa this summer,” She practically begs.

“When were you going to tell us?” Blaine asks, the surprise evident in his voice.

“After I gave you your gifts I got from when I took a day trip to see the Chinese Theater,” she explains, knowing that distracting Kurt with something historical and related to a celebrity would be the best way to break the news.

“Alright, I won’t say anything until I meet him,” Blaine promises at the look his daughter’s face. Even after all these years he still has trouble saying no to her. “I can’t make promises for your Papa, though.”

“Maybe, we don’t have to tell him,” she jokes.

“You know he’ll find out anyway, I’m not good at keeping secrets” Blaine laughs thinking about all the times he has failed to surprise Kurt.

When they get home, Sophie makes a beeline for the shower afraid Oliver will try to take it from her at the last second like he used to do.

“Kurt, I got you a bagel from the bakery on the way home. They’re still warm and fresh,” Blaine calls out setting the brown bag and opening the fridge and pulling out the cream cheese.

“Kurt?” Blaine calls again when he doesn’t hear anything and decides to investigate.

He finds Kurt in Riley’s room just staring into the empty space. They left everything how it is, waiting for her to come home.

“Kurt,” Blaine says hesitantly, placing his hand carefully on the small of Kurt’s back.

“Oh,” Kurt blinks like he’s waking up. He sighs and moves to sit down. In his hands are a small pile of clothes. It gives Blaine a sense of Deja Vu from when they lost their second baby before they adopted Oliver. Kurt took the entire thing hard, blaming himself since it was his sperm. He locked himself in the nursery for a week after the news, refusing to sleep or eat.

“She’s going to come back to us,” Blaine says undoubtedly.

Kurt nods and sniffs his tears away. “I forgot, for a second. I went to wake her up and get her dressed and – “

Blaine quickly moves to sit next to him and shush him, mostly because he isn’t sure if he can take anymore. “She is coming home. We are going to find her.” He says with more certainty.

Kurt nods in agreement.

“Now, how about bagels while I tell you about how Sophie has had a secret boyfriend since she started college,” Blaine distracts, knowing Kurt is always up for some good gossip, especially secret romances.

“Really?” Kurt says, naturally intrigued, following Blaine into the kitchen.

“Apparently, it’s getting serious, and she invited him to meet us, she wants to move in with him,” Blaine says in a mock whisper.

“I was kind of hoping Dylan and her would end up together,” Kurt answers disappointed.

“He was the perfect first boyfriend,” Blaine agrees. “But I promised we wouldn’t judge until after we meet him.” 

Blaine smiles as Kurt wrinkles his nose but nods in agreement.

“I’ll behave myself,” he promises.

It’s only three days later when he shows up at the front door nervously smiling and holding a bottle of wine. Blaine freezes when it’s offered to him because Sophie mentioned he was older, but not old enough to drink and he isn’t sure how he feels about the idea. He’s taller than Blaine imagined and tan. His hair and eyes are darker, which is the complete opposite of her high school boyfriend. His hair is on the shorter side, just growing out of a close shave to head. Blaine does approve that he at least dresses appropriately, nothing too casual or formal.

“I apologize for the mess,” Kurt says, and he leads him into the house, “We’re in the process of moving.”

“Your home is immaculate, Mr. Hummel-Anderson, thank you for having me” Luke politely replies.

“Please, call us Blaine and Kurt,” Blaine says trying to loosen the tightness in his voice.

When they take a seat in the living room, telling Oliver to turn off the television, Luke and Sophie cuddle close on the sofa, making Blaine cleared his throat awkwardly. He can tell from the way they are with each other that Sophie is probably already semi-living with this guy.

“So, Luke, Sophie hasn’t told us much about you,” Blaine starts causing her to flush with embarrassment and give him a warning look.

“I wanted to tell you, but she knew how much you were all going through and decided to wait. We were both a little nervous how you would react to the age difference,” Luke says shifting an appropriate distance from her, but being sure to hold her hand.

“And how old are you?” Kurt asks.

“Twenty-four,” Luke answers.

Blaine understands that to Sophie that five years doesn’t seem like that much of a difference, but to him, it’s a lot.

“uh, I think my dads’ want to know more about you?” Oliver asks when neither Kurt or Blaine say anything else.

“Right, um” Luke starts clearing his throat, more nervous than when he started.

“We’re sorry,” Kurt apologizes. “We just found out about you not that long ago, and now to hear you’re older is just a shock. But, please tell us more about yourself.”

“Well, I’m a police officer. I attended two years of community college before joining the academy, and I love your daughter. I’m not sure if you believe in love at first sight, but it’s the only way I could describe it. I saw her and just knew I had to know her.” Luke answers with a smile, causing Sophie to blush.

“Kurt believes in love at first sight,” Blaine teases bumping Kurt’s shoulder with his, knowing Kurt is gushing over the romance of the answer.

“Oh, hush, you believe in soulmates,” Kurt retorts with a laugh.

“I never said soulmates. I said I believe in us and I distinctly remember you having a crush on me when we first met,” Blaine says.

“Okay, yes I was hopeless in love with you, but it was you who wouldn’t stop flirting with me,” Kurt points out.

“Don’t let them fool you, I heard them fighting over which towel is the good towel just the other day,” Oliver jokes getting them to stop.

The rest of the conversation is polite, slowly becoming more comfortable. Blaine hates to admit it, but he does like this guy. He is polite and charming and seems to love Sophie. It isn’t until he reaches over to the table and picks up the Christmas photo with Riley that things take a turn.

“Who’s this?” he asks tensely.

“Um, that’s Riley,” Sophie answers carefully, attempting to pull the photo out of his hand.

“No, that’s not the picture you showed me,” Luke says seriously.

“Well, that was before she was healthier,” Sophie says through her teeth, trying to get the conversation to stop.

“Her hair? It’s shorter now?” he asks, looking around the room for another photo.

“Luke, don’t,” Sophie says looking at the pained looks on her family’s faces.

“We appreciate your interest, but this is not something we are ready to talk about,” Blaine answers bravely. “We’re still looking for her and waiting for her to come home.”

“You don’t understand; please excuse my behavior.” He apologizes quickly. “I don’t want to get your hopes up, but my last shift before I flew in there was a call from some neighbors about a suspicious mother and little boy that fits this description.”

Blaine feels his heartbeat quicken with the hope of it being her, but Kurt quickly takes his hand brings him back to earth.

“It … it might not be her, Blaine,” He says softly. 

“But it could be her,” he says optimistically.

“Luke do you think you could,” Sophie begins to ask hesitantly.

“Yes, of course, I will do anything I can to help you bring her home,” Luke answers to the family. “Do you think I could have this photo of her or something similar?”

“We have tons of them, just take what you need,” Blaine says pulling out a scrapbook he made and handing it over.

 

Typically they would invite a guest like Luke to stay in the guest room with them, but it seemed known to everyone that room was no longer available after becoming Riley’s room. He promised it was no trouble commuting from the hotel and Sophie offered to stay with him, not that it eased their minds.

“So, he seems nice,” Kurt says slowly as he carefully rubs lotion on his arms.

“He’s older,” Blaine responds short not looking up from his sheet music.

“It only seems older because he is drinking age and she is not,” Kurt points out.

Blaine only hums in response.

“He makes her happy,” Kurt says when Blaine doesn’t respond. He puts the bottle on lotion on the nightstand and cuddles close to Blaine giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.

“She didn’t tell us about him, doesn’t that worry you?” Blaine asks putting his sheet music down. “We’re accepting parents I don’t know why she had to hide this from us.”

“She didn’t hide it,” Kurt clarified. “Maybe she just wanted to keep it to herself, or not have us worry about her having sex like we both are now.”

“I should have offered the couch to him; then we could at least keep them apart,” Blaine sighs.

“Yeah because that worked so well for us,” Kurt laughs. “She’s nineteen, our time with her is over. We can’t make decisions for her anymore.”

Blaine doesn’t answer, only cuddles closer to Kurt, thoughtfully.

“Do you think Oliver has?” Blaine asks, and Kurt shoots up straight.

“Why? What do you know?” Kurt asks worriedly.

“Nothing, that’s why I’m asking you,” Blaine answers trying to keep his laughter under control.

“He hasn’t even dated yet,” Kurt says worriedly. “He’s so much younger.”

“He’s your baby boy I know, but he’s going to grow up too,” Blaine reasons pulling Kurt back in to cuddle.

“We don’t even know if he likes boys or girls,” Kurt thinks aloud.

“Or Both,” Blaine adds.

“Or neither, oh please let it be neither, then he can stay our sweet baby boy,” Kurt pleads jokingly.

Blaine feels himself drifting to sleep, he knows he needs to put his papers away and take his glasses off and turn out the lights, but Kurt’s warmth and breathing are lulling him to sleep.

“She loves him,” Kurt says softly, still in thought. “And not like the last love she had, this is something different. I can see it in the way she smiles at him.”

“Yeah,” Blaine answers nervously.

“At least he isn’t ugly,” Kurt jokes. “I don’t know if I could handle having an ugly grandchild.”

“Kurt, that’s not funny, I’m not ready for grandkids,” Blaine whines.

“I’m serious; he’s like a younger, tanner, version of Cooper,” Kurt teases, “You know with the perfectly angled face and nice muscles.”

“I thought we had a rule of not talking about my brother in bed,” Blaine pouts turning away from Kurt.

“You had that rule, and it’s weird,” Kurt responds moving Blaine’s papers to the side and reaching over him to turn out the light. 

“Don’t be too jealous, I still have the horrifying sight of Cooper clipping his toenails in the living room burned into my brain,” Kurt pacifies, shuddering a little at the thought.

“That was only a couple weeks, try living with him for years,” Blaine lightly complains before yawning.

He is just starting to fall asleep when Kurt speaks again.

“You know I think you’re the hottest, sexiest, and the most talented man on the planet, right?” Kurt asks slowly, eyes wide with worry.

“Kurt, go to sleep,” Blaine says with a smile, moving to cuddle into Kurt’s side.

Blaine is only able to sleep for a couple of hours before his new case of insomnia gets to him. He shifts quietly from the bed doing his best not to disturb Kurt. He’s caught him a few times laying with his eyes shut, pretending or trying to sleep in Riley’s bed, so any sleep Kurt gets is good.

Blaine shuffles into the kitchen and decides to get to work on the dishes Kurt was going to leave to do in the morning. At the smell of the dish soap, his mind drifts back to the days when it was just him and Kurt, Kurt washing the dishes and Blaine drying them. The days before they could even afford a dishwasher. He pauses and wipes his hands when he sees his phone light up with a notification. He debates on reading it. Not all the comments are good or supportive, or even relevant, but he has to know. His heart beats faster at a repost of Riley’s photo with the words “Last seen,” in the comment. He knows he shouldn’t get his hopes up, it might not be serious, just someone who wants his attention, so he screenshots the picture with the new comment to send to an update to the police. 

He knows there is no chance of sleep after this so after he finishes the dishes he works on organizing more of their books for the move. He knows it’s probably pointless since Kurt will just go back over it and make the final call of what gets packed and what gets sold, but it will keep his mind busy and that’s what he needs right now.


	22. Chapter 22

It’s a few days later. Blaine and Kurt are comfortably sharing the sofa, both doing work quietly, well Blaine is doing some work quietly as he tries to ignore Kurt’s socked foot that keeps inching slowly up his leg. The kids aren’t home. Sam took Sophie, her new boyfriend Luke, and Oliver out to do touristy things to show Luke the city. Sam promised to keep them away all day, and Kurt has been flirty since they closed the door behind them.  
“Kurt,” Blaine warns slowly, with no threat to his voice. “I’m trying to work.”  
“Then keep working, don’t let me distract you,” Kurt teases moving closer to Blaine to start kissing at his neck.  
“I need to get this done,” Blaine stutters out, trying to keep back a moan when Kurt hits the spot that drives him mad.  
“Don’t make me beg, Blaine” Kurt whispers against his skin.  
“I’m not, I’m honestly trying to work,” Blaine laughs.  
“It’s been so long that it probably won’t take that long,” Kurt reasons.  
“Is that supposed to turn me on?” Blaine teases but stops short when he can’t help let out a wounded strangled sound as Kurt shoves him down onto his back and shuts him up with a kiss.  
Blaine finally gives in and sets his work aside, not bothering to remove his lips from Kurt to watch where he places the papers and pencil.  
Blaine both hates and loves that Kurt can make him feel like a teenager in love with one kiss. He knows they should move their make-out session to somewhere more appropriate than their living room couch, but he also likes how young making out on the sofa makes him feel.  
“Papa! Dad!” Blaine hears his kids shout once Kurt finally gets his shirt off. They scramble to make themselves decent as he hears them run into the living yelling about the television.  
Blaine can’t help the shameful look on his face when they stop short and give him a disgusted look.  
“Sam! You promised me all day,” Kurt hisses at Sam who is not even polite enough to hide his amusement.  
“Sorry bro, but this is urgent, you need to turn on channel 22” Sam explains.  
Kurt reaches for the remote to turn on the television as Blaine tries to smooth out his shirt. They watch quietly as the story unfolds before them, all Blaine’s brain process is they found her, identified her, and she is in critical care. His ears are ringing.  
“I made a call back to the chief and had the new photos and documents you gave me faxed over. The chief then made a call to the station who found Riley and they were able to identify her. They haven’t made the arrest yet, but he’s hopeful with this new information,” Luke says hesitantly.  
He stays frozen in his seat, his eyes glued to the television. “It’s her?”  
“Yeah, Dad, it’s her,” Sophie says putting a hand on his shoulder.  
Kurt doesn’t say a word as he gets up, grabbing his phone and moving into the same room.  
“I left a voicemail to the station requesting they call me back on my personal number to give me details in her condition,” Luke says, “I can’t make promises that they will allow me to have that information, but I’m hoping since we gave them information they may share their information with us.”  
“We’re going to bring her home, right Dad?” Oliver asks, eyes wide and wet.  
Blaine can’t say anything. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen. He sighs in relief when Kurt comes marching back into the living room.  
“Blaine, why are you still sitting here? You need to pack,” Kurt berates before turning to his attention to Sam. “Sam, can we leave you in charge for a couple of days?”  
“Sure, however long you need” He answers without hesitation and Kurt begins to shuffle around the living room looking for papers they may need.  
“Papa, no we want to be there,” Oliver begs.  
“No, you need to stay here,” Kurt answers, leaving no room for argument.  
“What about Luke and me? We can help,” Sophie asks. “Luke has connections, and I can read all the medical jargon for you.”  
“Wait why does she get to go, and I don’t?” Oliver cuts ins.  
“I never said she was going, Sophie, you stay here. The fewer people, the better,” Kurt explains to them. “Blaine, we need to get going, what are you doing?”  
Blaine still hasn’t processed what exactly is happening. He knows he’s just sitting there looking stupid. Kurt calmly sits next to him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, “One of us needs to book a flight and call a cab while the other packs,” Kurt says slowly, asking Blaine which he would like to do.  
“You pack, I’ll book the flight,” He decides after taking a deep breath calming himself down. 

When they get to the hospital, they are denied any information and are told they are not able to see her. Kurt immediately began calling their lawyer trying to get her to fax the paperwork they need to have custody of her again, even if it’s just temporary custody, while Blaine tries everything to convince the nurse to let them back; she doesn’t once hesitate or budge on her answer. They have no choice but to sit and wait. They take turns waiting by the reception desk for an answer, but Blaine is losing hope on getting any answer to their questions.  
Blaine takes a deep breath and chances a glance at Kurt, who had been reassuring the whole trip. He finally notices in all the hours they have been waiting Kurt hasn’t said anything. The first reaction Blaine has is to worry more, but he sees the way Kurt’s leg is bouncing and how he is picking at his nails. He just knows Kurt is trying to fight off his weird rituals he takes on when he gets stressed over something he can’t control. Blaine can’t do much, so he grabs Kurt’s hand and gives it a tight squeeze.  
“Am I too bouncy?” Kurt asks shyly, looking as insecure and unsure as he had when Blaine first met him.  
“No, I just needed some grounding” Blaine explains.  
“This is the worst,” Kurt says in a strangled voice, “What if she-?” Kurt’s cuts off shaking his head.  
“She’s not. They would have told us,” Blaine says doing the best to pull Kurt closer to him despite the armrest in-between them. “Look, I know sitting in a hospital just waiting isn’t helping your stress, maybe you should go check us into the hotel, take a shower, have a nap and bring back some dinner and coffee?”  
“No, I couldn’t leave you or her, I’m fine,” Kurt says doing his best to stay composed.  
“I’ll call you as soon as they tell me something,” Blaine promises.  
“I want to say,” Kurt’s voice is small, barely above a whisper, but Blaine doesn’t push. He gives his head a quick kiss.  
It’s little over another half an hour of pacing and waiting and worrying when two officers approach them and offer to escort them back to see Riley.  
“It’s not like that last time,” one officer specifies. “She seems not to have any fight left within her. We are not sure if she is just sick and weak or if she has removed herself from this world.”  
“We just want to warn you that she may not respond to you,” the other clarifies.  
They quietly head into the room and find her asleep. Riley isn’t as skinny as she once was, but she is thinner than when she left them. The left side of her face seems to hold a lot of damage; it’s multi-colored and swollen. Her neck has a red ring around it that is also bruised and swollen. Her nails are covered in dirt and blood. Blaine freezes at the sight of her, Kurt swallows hard and moves to her side, placing the beloved stuffed rabbit, they retrieved from the foster family, under her arm.  
“Ask the nurse for soap and a cloth to wash her off,” Kurt demands in a calm voice that almost frightens Blaine.  
“Kurt, we should let her sleep,” Blaine says quietly. He knows Kurt only reacts like this to keep himself busy, so he doesn’t have to feel the pain, but they were also instructed to leave her be.  
“She is covered in mud and filth. She needs to be clean.” Kurt bites.  
Blaine sighs and finds himself unable to argue further. He slowly makes his way to the nurse’s station, glancing back to see Kurt fussing with the sheets and blanket. The nurse is older with a warm smile and soft eyes. He wishes he had the energy to smile back, but he just tiredly repeats Kurt’s request. She reassures him that she will be right in with the water and a cloth to wash off if he doesn’t mind waiting in the room for her.  
He makes his way back in the room and takes the empty seat in the corner of the room.  
“You’re just going to sit there?” Kurt asks, probably harsher than he intends.  
“What would you like me to do?” Blaine tiredly asks.  
“Call the kids? Email the lawyer? There is plenty of stuff that needs to be done, Blaine,” Kurt answers.  
“No, I’m going to sit right here so that way when she wakes up she knows I’m here,” Blaine states, no argument in his voice.  
“So, I have to do everything?” Kurt complains hands on his hips.  
“No, you can sit here with me,” Blaine answers calmly.  
There’s a beat, and that’s when Kurt breaks. Blaine’s not sure why Kurt does this to himself, but he expected it.  
“I’m sorry,” Kurt whispers, hugging himself.  
“Sit with me,” Blaine requests.  
Kurt nods and moves the other chair in the room to the area Blaine in sitting in.  
It doesn’t take long for the nurse to arrive with the water and cloth, along with two water bottles she hands to them.  
“I’m nurse Anne,” She introduces herself, “now, I understand you are working on temporary custody?”  
“Um our lawyer is in the process of handling the paperwork,” Kurt clarifies.  
“Once we receive everything, I will have the doctor come in and go over all the details with you, for now, would one of you like to help?” She asks, holding the wet rag in Kurt’s direction with a knowing smile.  
Kurt nods and takes the rag and water and begins to gently clean off the dirt, while Nurse Anne starts to check her temperature.  
“Will she be okay?” Blaine asks quietly.  
“It’s too soon to tell,” she answers honestly, “but we are doing everything we can to help her.”  
Blaine observes her reaction to the thermometer, she frowns and hums writing something in a chart before turning her attention towards Kurt.  
“When you’re done you can just leave the cloth and water by the sink, someone will be in the collect it later,” she instructs before turning and leaving.  
Kurt keeps working slowly, the water turning darker and darker each time he dunks the cloth in and rings it out.  
“I should have never let them take her,” Kurt says in a broken voice after a while.  
“Kurt,” Blaine warns not to go down this road.  
“I didn’t know what else to do,” Kurt sounds so defeated, it doesn’t help the pain in Blaine’s heart.  
“We weren’t given an option,” Blaine tries to reason.  
“I should have fought harder and found an option,” Kurt’s breath hitches and his voice sounds wet. “It’s my fault she’s back in this place, that she is hurt all over again.”  
“That’s not true,” Blaine says softly but sure. “You did everything you could, if we didn’t follow their rules we would have been in a lot more trouble, they could have taken Oliver from us. You were looking out for your family.”  
Blaine watches carefully as Kurt hugs himself and starts to crumble.  
“Besides, all that matters now is we found her, and we can help her get better,” Blaine tries his best to reassure Kurt, but he isn’t sure if he believes his own words.  
“I’m going to get some air,” Kurt states walking out of room suddenly. Blaine knows it’s his way of saying he needs a moment to compose himself.  
It doesn’t take long for the silence to begin to effect Blaine’s nerves. He needs something filling it. He moves over to sit next to her and holds her hand lightly. He hums the first few bars of her favorite song before even realizing what he’s doing. He sings softly, his voice crackly slightly from the emotion.  
“I know this is going to be hard for you,” Blaine whispers after he is done singing. “I know you’ll have trouble trusting again and readjusting, but I won’t give up on you. Okay? You just need to get better, and we can take you home for good. No one will take you away this time.”  
Blaine must have made too much noise because his words cut off when he notices her blinking her eyes open. At first, she stares up at the ceiling. She stares so long that Blaine wonders if she is awake, but she eventually turns her head to look at who is holding her hand and talking to her.  
“Hey, Angel,” Blaine smiles holding back tears.  
She doesn’t react, just stares. There is no fear like there was before, there is nothing behind the looks she gives Blaine. It’s as if she is looking right through him rather than at him. Blaine knows she is probably heavily medicated, but it seems like she has given up and it hurts so much more than he was ready for.  
“I’m here,” he tries, “I’m here, you’re okay.”  
She doesn’t change the way she looks. She doesn’t move. All Blaine can think to do is repeat his words over and over until she falls back to sleep. 

Once their temporary custody is granted they receive all her medical information. She is extremely ill is all they explain; high fever, severe cough, fluid in the lungs. She’s also dehydrated and malnourished. They go over her injuries; bruises, cracked ribs, chafing around the neck. They are not sure of her brain activity. The scans show no severe damage, but she hasn’t responded to any form of interaction. According to Kurt, it’s like she is in a living coma. Riley's awake, she can see, hear, speak if she wants to, but she’s not. They have both tried to get her to acknowledge them, but they know not to push. The doctors worry that her fever hasn’t gone done and explain it will only get worse if she doesn’t get better.  
It takes them over a week before they get the approval they need to take her home. The doctors seem to disagree with the idea, but they promise once she can eat whole foods and her fever goes to at least a manageable degree that they can take her home as long as a nurse comes in daily to help take care of her.  
“Come on Angel; I know you used to like the Jell-O over the crackers.” Blaine tries to reason to get her to eat something. It’s progress. She used to do everything mechanically, not fighting just accepting what they needed to do. However, this is the third day of trying to keep solid food down, and after all the times she threw up she has learned that eating upsets her stomach. Kurt promises it was one of the medications they had her on, that it made her stomach queasy and after the switch, she should be okay, but now she won’t eat anything.  
“Just one bite, and if you don’t want it after we won’t eat anymore,” Blaine begs, feeling Kurt’s judgmental look.  
“You’re not helping,” Blaine mumbles to Kurt, giving up on getting her to eat and setting the Jell-O and spoon down.  
“I didn’t say anything,” Kurt defends.  
“You don’t need to,” Blaine accuses.  
“Let me try,” Kurt asks more than demands. “I was always more stubborn than you were when Sophie had refused to eat.”  
Blaine gives in because it was true. Kurt could hold out for hours on getting Sophie to eat or at least try the food. Blaine also hates being nauseous in any way, so that’s why he gave in quicker.  
Kurt gets up, grabbing a packet of crackers, opening them and placing them next to the Jell-O cup.  
“I know you don’t like eating, but you really need to eat something. You can have some crackers or some Jell-O,” Kurt instructed in a soft, calm voice.  
Blaine watched carefully, ready to step in since she has turned away from Kurt before.  
Kurt didn’t watch her or even wait for her to eat.  
“Has our realtor put the bid on the house we wanted?” Kurt casually asked.  
“Yeah, we are still waiting to hear back from their realtor,” Blaine answers  
“It will be nice to have the pool in the summer,” Kurt says dreamily.  
“You don’t swim or tan,” Blaine laughs  
“Yeah, but you do both, and maybe I just want to see you in a swimsuit again,” Kurt teases.  
“It’s been a long time I don’t look the same,” Blaine says shyly.  
“I know you don’t, doesn’t mean I’m any less attracted to you,” Kurt explains.  
They keep up their casual conversation, talking about what they still need to pack and things they need to have done before moving. It takes a while but eventually Blaine see’s Riley carefully leaning over and slurping the Jell-O out of the cup, coughing a little when it goes up her nose.  
Kurt quickly shushes her and wipes her face gently with a napkin. He signals Blaine to feed her with a spoon as he documents the time and what she ate, Kurt insisted on keeping detailed records of his own to see her progress for himself.  
“Once you finish eating we can give you a quick bath and then you can have a song or story before getting some more sleep before your next therapy session,” Kurt instructs.  
Blaine is worried it’s too rigid and structured, but he knows it helps, so she knows what to expect next, no uncertainty. This could quickly turn into something for Kurt to obsess over, it’s a fine line they are walking.  
Once she finishes her Jell-O, Kurt asks Blaine if he wants to try bathing her since they have the permission to give her a real bath, but Blaine shakes his head. He knows he shouldn’t be as scared as he is, but he can’t help his fear of losing her again.  
Blaine is in the middle of straightening out the sheets when he hears his name being called from the bathroom.  
He pokes his head and see’s Kurt shaking, and Riley sitting in the corner trying to cover herself.  
“I, they didn’t say” Kurt stutters.  
Blaine is about to ask what Kurt is talking about, but then he catches a glimpse of the bruises on her inner thighs. He takes a deep breath and reaches to hand Riley a towel.  
“Do you want to continue or talk to the doctor?” Blaine asks once he is positive his voice will be under control.  
“She wouldn’t let me, I got her pajamas off, and she started to cry and fight me,” Kurt explains.  
Blaine nods and tries to think of the next step. The doctors probably already know, he doesn’t understand why they didn’t tell them.  
“You go find her doctor, and I’ll get her cleaned up,” Blaine suggests more than instructs.  
It doesn’t take Kurt more than seconds to march out of there and Blaine knows he is more than furious with the medical staff holding back this information.  
“It’s alright, Angel,” Blaine says calmly, “He’s not mad.”  
She shrinks back further into the corner when Blaine even inches closer. He sighs and takes a seat in the doorway. “I’m not going to hurt you, no one is ever going to hurt you again,” he says as calm as possible. “You remember, don’t you?”  
She stays in her corner refusing to look at him.  
“If it makes you feel better we can just put on some fresh clothes and go back to bed,” Blaine offers, reaching in the bag for some clean pajamas and underwear.  
She refuses to look at him but nods and numbly allows him to dress her and carry her back to bed.  
Blaine carefully lays her on top of the covers and blankets and quickly prepares a bucket of soapy water and some towels. He is careful and mindful of his movements, aware of how tense she is. Blaine tries singing to calm her down, but he isn’t sure if it is helping this time or not. He doesn’t clean her as well as he would like but he does what he can before he tucks her under the covers.  
“There now, that must feel a little better?” Blaine asks with a smile.  
“Now how about a movie before nap time? I brought your favorite,” Blaine suggests pulling out his tablet and turning on Tarzan. He waits till she is zoned into the movie before guiding her thumb out of her mouth, replacing it with a pacifier.  
As they quietly watch the movie, he leaves his hand just out of reach of touch. To his surprise Riley takes it and looks at him, silently asking him something. Blaine waits before taking the risk and gently sliding next to her in bed, allowing her to cuddle up close to him. When she is finally asleep, he gently places a kiss on the top of her head. He knows he should probably move out of the bed, but he stays put.  
Kurt walks back in, and Blaine can see the tension and stress in his shoulders, but it melts away at the sight of them.  
“She just got to sleep,” Blaine whispers.  
Kurt smiles and takes the seat next to the bed, leaning in and gently taking her hand.  
“They tried to give me pamphlets,” Kurt scoffs after a while. “They withheld the information, and they think pamphlets are going to help us.”  
“We’ll find better resources once we get her back into the house,” Blaine says.  
“Once we get her home,” Kurt corrects.  
“Kurt,” Blaine sighs because he can’t go through this again.  
“It’s her home,” Kurt says surely, his tone leaving no room for argument. “We’re her home.”  
Blaine nods silently, he needs it to be true, but he isn’t ready to give in yet.  
“And our new home out of the city will be good for her, I’ve already set up interviews with home care nurses,” Kurt says pulling out his phone to show Blaine the profiles he has saved.  
“Ollie suggested a therapy dog,” Blaine states knowing Kurt has always had a no pets rule.  
Kurt nods but doesn’t say no, so Blaine considers it progress.  
“Have you called your agent back?” Kurt asks with a hint of something Blaine is not sure of in his voice.  
“I’ve been busy,” he excuses.  
Since they have found Riley and been in the hospital with her Blaine has set his new start to his music career on hold. He already rescheduled his recording dates, and he knows the rescheduled date is approach hence all the calls from his agent.  
“She’s asleep you can go now,” Kurt suggests.  
“She needs me,” Blaine says protectively.  
“We’ll be fine for an hour or two while you meet with your agent and get together what you need to record,” Kurt answers.  
Blaine does his best not to fidget with Riley cuddled close to him, but he can’t help it under Kurt’s stare.  
“Blaine,” Kurt sighs, “You can’t use the system like this, your fan base will feel betrayed, and you’re going to cost the producer more money.”  
Blaine knows everything Kurt is saying is in reason, but he feels himself losing his composure, “What if she pulls away from you again or acts out?” Blaine tries to reason.  
“You need to get some work done, we’ll be alright, she’ll get used to me again,” Kurt explains.  
“I’m not the one who gave her up. She needs me.” Blaine regrets the words as soon as they come out of his mouth.  
Kurt looks physically stricken by the words, and Blaine wishes he just looked angry rather than hurt and betrayed.  
“You said you forgave me and understood,” Kurt says slowly.  
“She won’t understand,” Blaine says, and he doesn’t know where his filter is.  
Blaine wishes Kurt would cry or yell. He keeps staring like he’s waiting. Blaine finally lets the anger deflate from him.  
“Kurt I,” he begins, but Kurt shakes his head cutting off his apology.  
“You’re going to need more than a guilty apology to make up for that comment,” he says with calm anger.  
“I get you like being a Dad, Blaine,” Kurt continues not letting Blaine have a chance to speak. “I get that you’ve missed it since our children have grown. I get that you love her and want to take care of her. But, you’ve made another commitment, and you need to ride that out before you can go back to being just dad.”  
Blaine stays silent and keeps his gaze away from Kurt’s, ashamed of himself.  
“If you want me to leave then I’ll pack up and go back home,” Kurt says after an annoyed sigh.  
Blaine still doesn’t say anything, he knows Kurt is right, Kurt is always right, but he can’t just leave after they have her back.  
Kurt waits, and his look begins to worry the longer Blaine takes to respond. He finally nods and begins to gather his things.  
“Kurt, don’t go,” Blaine pleads, easing himself off the bed to be at Kurt’s side.  
“Why? You, clearly, don’t want my help,” Kurt says annoyed.  
“I can’t just work and forget about her,” Blaine tries to reason.  
“You don’t have to forget about her,” Kurt says, apparently still upset.  
“She’ll think I gave up on her or something,” Blaine says, worry in his voice.  
“She won’t. I won’t let her,” Kurt reassures. “Besides she sleeps most of the day with the medication she is on.”  
Blaine nods slowly, “I’ll call tomorrow, I don’t think I can handle it after all the news we got today on her condition.”  
“Tomorrow,” Kurt agrees, releasing the tension from his body.  
“I think I’m going to go for a walk,” Kurt says after a while, and Blaine knows he’s still upset about the argument.  
“Kurt I- “Blaine starts to apologize, but Kurt shakes his head.  
“We’ll be okay. I just need time,” Kurt clarifies and strolls out the door.  
Blaine reasons that it is probably more than their argument, and reminds himself Kurt likes his space and time alone. Kurt grew up handling his own problems alone while his dad was at work.  
Blaine blinks as Riley’s face scrunches and she whines in her sleep.  
The only thing Blaine can think to do is stroke her hair and whisper “Hush now; everything’s okay. I’m here. Your Daddy is here” reassuringly

He is shocked by his words, but that's what he wants to be. That's what he is, a father


End file.
